By John B Monteiro

Mangalore, Apr 14: On the evening of April 13 in a shamiana in the forecourt of Bellore church, which is under major renovation, in a moving ceremony, Sr Hilaria, eldest sister of Charles Monteiro (Charlie), her youngest brother, handed over documents donating his full body to Fr Vincent Monteiro, who accepted them on behalf of Father Muller Medical College. Both spoke movingly about Charlie’s noble gesture and the need for more people to donate organs and full body to hospitals and medical colleges.
 
Charlie died at the age of 58 years on April 11. After the funeral mass, his body was not interred in the church cemetery – as almost all Catholics do - or cremated as very few opt for, or given a water burial as in the case of Bin Laden. Rather, a hearse carried his inert body to the morgue of Father Muller Hospital and College at Kankanady, Mangalore, where he had been earlier kept pending his funeral rites.

Charlie was the youngest of us seven children and, for good reasons, could not go beyond PUC at St Aloysius College. But he was a learner all his life, knowledgeable in a variety of subjects through the radio, TV, books, magazines and newspapers. One of the things he learnt was that the dead body has its uses. So, when his life as a cancer patient over the last five years saw ups and downs, bouts of hope and despair and, finally, only despair when the disease reached its terminal stage, he had an altruistic vision of life after death. He visualised himself turning from a student while alive to a teaching instrument after his death – by donating his body for study by medical students and researchers.

Sometime last year, he asked me to get the forms from Father Muller to facilitate full body donation. I got the forms, saw that they were signed by him, his close relatives and witnesses. I also met the Director of the hospital, Fr Patrick Rodrigues. Donating a body was new territory for us and a smooth, dignified handling of the process was crucial for soothing the bereaved family. Fr Patrick was most encouraging and helpful and offered to organise the smooth transfer of the body – and he did. Charlie’s son, Deepak, who went to the hospital to deliver the body, finished the job in a jiffy and returned to his residence at Kalpane, on the BC Road-Polali Road, within an hour to commence the post-funaral ceremonies which include prayers and consolation for the bereaved family and partaking “Mourning Pez” (rice gruel) with chutney and pickle.

During this period, I was associated with the Catholic Association of South Canara (CASK), which is currently celebrating its centenary; I was writing its history, which has since been published under the title CASK and Fellow Centurions. One of the centenary projects of CASK is augmenting the morgue capacity of Father Muller Hospital and promoting organ and full body donation, the first for transplanting and the second for dissecting and study by medical students and researchers. At a meeting of the Governing Council of CASK, with the Bishop present, the subject of organ/body donation came up and Fr Patrick observed that even after persons go through the formalities of body donation as per the wishes of the prospective donor, after the person dies, family members often rescind on the dead person’s decision. It is to the credit of Charlie’s close family that they respected the decision when he made it, fully supported it and had no second thoughts on the subject after his demise. His family noted the body donation in the obituary announcement and the Daijiworld website has readers lauding his decision, one person, Marian from Mangalore wrote: A very noble thought indeed by a great noble soul. Donating his body for medical study and research is the greatest gift Charles has given back to god. He has inspired me and I too will follow.”
 
Incidentally, Charlie might have a surprise for those who dissect his body – they will not find his spleen. When he was in his teens, he was assailed by a rare disease in which his red blood cells were destroyed and turned white. He would become very anaemic and had to be propped up by expensive drugs prescribed by leading doctors in Bombay. Faced with recurring episodes of this yo-yo life, the doctors took the risk of removing his spleen, though they feared that it would reduce his immunity factor. The feared recurrence of diseases never materialised till cancer did him in. I am bringing this up so that the dissectors at Father Muller Medical College do not waste their time and go on a wild goose chase for the missing spleen.

In conclusion, it is for the likes of Charlie that William Shakespeare, English dramatic poet (1564-1616) had said in Julius Caesar:

“Cowards die many times before their death;
The valiant never taste death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.”
In the case of Charlie, death was not a necessary end.

My own memories of Charlie are mixed. The pleasant ones include his last social outing on July 17, 2013 to participate in my platinum jubilee celebration party which had an Howaian theme and the farewell I bid before the hearse moved away from Bellore church headed for Father Muller morgue - as reflected in the photos alongside.