After completing his adult medicine residency, Dr. Timothy Holtz left Boston to spend a full year practicing medicine in Dharamsala, a small town in the northern Indian foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. A Doctor in Little Lhasa recounts Holtz’s experiences working in the modest hospital that serves the Tibetan refugee and local populations, as well as curious Western tourists who fall ill during their pilgrimages to the region.
Since 1962, Dharamsala has been the official site of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and home to the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan-run, donor-supported facility where Holtz worked has only the most basic equipment and resources, yet it serves a community in excess of 15,000 people. Far removed from the state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and cutting edge medications typical of Western hospitals, Holtz had to go back to the basics of clinical diagnosis and treatment, relying on his skills of observation as well as the medical histories gleaned from his patients. As Holtz matures as a young physician, the excitement of practicing medicine in a remote location is fraught with difficult and challenging moments. At one point, he must try to stop a dangerous outbreak of diphtheria from spreading, with no vaccines on hand. Sometimes he could only watch in frustration as patients died of diseases, such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, that could have been treated in an economically developed country. It was the resilience of the Tibetan people that confirmed the importance of Holtz’s drive to care for an underserved population.
A Doctor in Little Lhasa also touches on the contemporary history of Tibet, as well as its people and culture. Tibetans have suffered persecution from the Chinese Government, forcing thousands into exile across the Himalayan Mountains with little more than the clothes on their back. Holtz witnessed the depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder borne of torture and mistreatment endured before fleeing Tibet. His investigation into the mental health scars from trauma under occupation and exile led to a meeting with the Dalai Lama and a discussion about how to better serve the survivors. In several cases, Holtz’s medical intervention and treatment of psychological distress saved his patients’ lives.
A Doctor in Little Lhasa is a fascinating book that draws readers in from the beginning. Holtz’s one-year experience in Dharamsala serving Tibetans in exile changed his life forever. Moreover, his story highlights the inseparable connection between health and human rights.
A Doctor in Little Lhasa: One Year in Dharamsala with the Tibetans in Exile, by Timothy H. Holtz, MD, is available from all major booksellers, as well as www.timothyholtzbooks.com. The book is also available for Kindle, Nook, and I-Book.