KOCHI: Kidney failure is a rising concern among people. Once diagnosed, many of them lose hope and see it as an end of their life. This is what Dr Jayant Thomas Mathew, a renowned nephrologist from the state, wanted to change through his documentary Rays of Hope.
In what could be the first instance in the country, a nephrologist has made a 23-minute long documentary that breaks the myths related to kidney diseases. It intends to remove the fear from people and give them necessary and effective knowledge of the kidney. Rays of Hope covers all the information one could know about kidney diseases.
Actor Spadikam George who himself is a survivor of kidney disease shares his real-life experiences in the documentary. The actor’s presence uplifts the documentary and helps the common man understand the issues related to kidney and its solutions. He had a kidney transplant and is doing well now and even acted in two movies after that, inspiring others to stay positive.
“I have noticed that most of the patients have a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings about the disease. It is not a life-threatening one. Even if it is diagnosed in the later stages, patients can lead a quality life if given proper treatment. There are people who were treated aggressively and recovered,” said Dr Jayant. The documentary can be watched without any stress or trauma as it does not have any hospital ambience, which might be uncomfortable and scary for patients and their relatives.
“I would also encourage regular medical check-up for kidney patients. I give my patient’s the analogy of a car. We don’t wait to get into an accident before we take it for service and routine checks. This should be applicable to our body too,” Dr Jayant. The doctor hoped that he have conveyed the message to all the viewers. “Even doctors are scared when it comes to kidney diseases and I wanted to remove that. Some of them even refuse to prescribe a medicine for a kidney patient. Hence a whole new understanding is required on every level,” he added.
The documentary is available on YouTube. Owing to recommendations from his patients, Dr Jayanth is planning on either dubbing or providing subtitles for the documentary to reach out to more people. Music Director Sunny Viswanath, Anoop Krishnan and Amos worked with Dr Jayant in creating the documentary, which has already gained 1,000 plus views.