A young boy looks for support and encouragement
Bound to wheelchair – may be for life—due to ‘negligence’ of a top surgeon, Pradhyumna DC is determined to become a ‘model’ for young people like him.
When hundreds of people turned up at the five-day long yoga session conducted by Indian Guru Ramdev last month at Tundikhel in Kathmandu, a father-son duo hailing from mid-western district of Salyan had come there with high hopes.
After months of treatment failed to enable the 16-year-old boy Pradhyumna Raj DC to walk normally, the tormented father Krishna Raj DC decided to bring him to the Yoga camp having heard of miraculous qualities of Yoga.
The story of Pradhyumna is a heart-rending one. A boy who used to 'limp slightly' since childhood was brought to Kathmandu nearly one and a half years ago by his father for treatment.
As doctors diagnosed problems in his spinal chord, the family agreed to go for surgical treatment at the hands of a noted neuro-surgeon at the Norvic hospital at Thapathali.
Unfortunately, the operation conducted twice at the hospital, instead of curing him further complicated the situation. The boy lost sense from waist downI and has been wheelchair-bound ever since.
Doctors had assured that Pradhyumna would be able to walk on his own within six months to one year. But as things did not improve even after nearly one and half years, DC family is full of despair.
Despite running from pillar to the post, the father has been unable to see his son walk again. "My son who used to lead a normal life is now wheelchair-bound. I want answers from doctors. I cannot continue to sustain costly treatment based on my earnings," said Krishna Raj DC who teaches Nepali at the Padmodaya Public Higher Secondary School in Dang.
DC said that the monthly treatment costs for his son have exceeded Rs 10,000. And although many have recommended physio-therapy, he is worried about its cost.
"Although doctors had said that he would walk soon, it has been one and a half years and I see no improvement. I cannot see my son turn into a paralyzed person," he said. His son, however, continues with his studies in Grade Eight despite his condition. Prakash KC-- Pradhyumna’s maternal uncle, who is taking care of Pradhyumna’s treatment at Room No. 302 of the Institute of Naturopathy-- said Pradhyumna still complains of severe headache especially in the morning and evening.
“He is an intelligent and hard-working boy who wanted to be a medical doctor. But now, I think it might be a Himalayan task for him even to complete his graduation and find a job,” said KC.
Pradhyumna, on his part, is still putting on a brave face. He recalled the week-long Yoga camp vividly and said a number of disabled people were also there at the camp expecting miracles. “I am happy that I learnt a few ‘asanas’ (postures) which I hope to continue in future. I hope to walk on my own one day,” he added with smile on his face.
To be fair, it may be a distant dream for him. But after consulting a number of physicians and a noted neuron-surgeon Dr Basant Pant, Krishna Raj DC decided to admit his son at the Institute for Naturopathy and hospital at New Baneswore. At the hospital, Pradhyumna practices Yoga, Pranayam, is undergoing acupuncture, and most importantly, Ayurvedic massage. But again the costs are spiraling for a school teacher. “The hospital has advised my son to stay at least for three months but I don’t have any means to pay the bills on my own, which costs around Rs 18,000 per month,” he said.
DC’s friends came forward to get his son admitted at the Naturopathy hospital but the support he has received so far is not sufficient even to meet the costs for one month.
Krishna Raj DC also wants to know if organisations like Nepal Medical Association would help him in such a situation but is unwilling to file a legal suit against the doctor concerned. “We need more neuro-surgeons now in the country and I don’t want to discourage professionals who have chosen to serve their own country instead of moving abroad,” he said.
He also thanked Basanta Chaudhary, director of Norvic hospital, who offered him substantial concessions last year during the treatment of his son after knowing that he was a well-known poet and vice president of Lekhak Sangh Dang. Krishna Raj DC has acquired his Ph. D. in Nepali literature from Tribhuvan University and has published a number of poetry books including “Albert Einstein ra Gautam Buddha.” In the book, Buddha advises Einstein not to engage in a research that is capable to destroy the entire world many times but to look for peace and prosperity for the humanity.
Pradhyumna is not the first boy to suffer from the hands of our own medicos, nor will be the last. But unless we have an affordable system of medical insurance and an effective mechanism to hold the medicos accountable, many young boys like him may find their hopes shattered and sheer difficulties even to behave like a normal boy of their age. nepalnews.com sd Oct 10 07
(Editors’s Note: If you want to support towards the treatment and study of Pradhyumna, please write to editors@mos.com.np or pradhyumnadc@yahoo.com. Donations can also be sent to Pradhyumna DC c/o CEHURDES, GPO Box 23809, Kathmandu, Nepal. Prakash KC can be contacted at 00977 9841 494430.)
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