How a father's dream turned a mischievous boy into a doctor, saving his life years later

Dr. Binod Sah recounts how his father's unwavering resolve, rooted in his own impoverished background, propelled him from a playful, unstudious boy in Siraha, Nepal, to a practicing doctor. Sah's father, a former porter who saved diligently to afford a horse for transport, recognized the limited opportunities in their village. He envisioned a different future for his only son, emphasizing education as the sole path to a respectable life. "If you study, you will become a doctor. If you don't, you will become a thief or a thug," he told his 13-year-old son.

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I held his hand and kept telling him, ‘Father, you will survive. You will survive.’

This ambition led Sah's father to enroll him in St. Joseph's Boarding School in Biratnagar. However, the disciplined environment was a stark contrast to Sah's village life, leading him to run away after just two months. Despite his mother's comfort upon his return, his father remained firm, refusing him entry and sending him back to school that same night. Sah describes this as a pivotal, difficult moment, acknowledging that his father's strictness fundamentally altered his life's trajectory. He has since been largely defined by his career, rarely having time for home.

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You saved me.

Years later, Sah found himself in Türkiye, not as a doctor treating his own father, but as a devoted son. His father, aged 60, developed critical heart and kidney conditions requiring advanced treatment unavailable in Nepal. Sah arranged complex medical transport, accompanying his father on a stretcher from Delhi to Türkiye, providing oxygen and medical support throughout the journey. His father's condition worsened in Türkiye, necessitating 25 days in intensive care. During this period, Sah oscillated between his roles as a doctor and a son, providing constant care and reassurance. "I held his hand and kept telling him, ‘Father, you will survive. You will survive,’" Sah recalls.

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I was very mischievous when I was young. I wasn’t interested in studies. I preferred playing and having fun.

Upon his father's recovery, the elder Sah looked at his son and said, "You saved me." For Dr. Sah, this moment transcended a successful medical outcome. It represented the culmination of his father's lifelong efforts and sacrifices to ensure his son's future. The father's determination, born from his own struggles, had ultimately saved his son's life, fulfilling the very ambition he had instilled years prior through strict discipline and unwavering belief in education.

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If you study, you will become a doctor. If you don’t, you will become a thief or a thug.