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“Suman can’t move or speak. He is fed with the help of a pipe through his nose at home. A lot of his brain cells have died, and he is on a way to permanent brain damage. As this family of two is drained of all their money, they are living in a temporary fabric-made cottage. Suman lays motionless in a cot, as all his body parts have failed.”
Eight months ago, when Sri Kamdeo Prasad was still recovering from the sorrow of his wife’s death in 2013, he got hit by another shock: his son named Suman Sourav was diagnosed as having a life-threatening disease named Japanese Encephalitis. Since then, because of deep financial crisis, Kamdeo ji is forced to wander from one hospital to another, from one NGO to another politician.
One day in October 2015, after when Suman came back from school in his hometown Birsanagar near Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, India, he complained about breathlessnes and high fever. Kamdeo ji took him to a local hospital, and it was found that Suman was suffering from a rare life-threatening disease named Japanese Encephalitis (JE). JE is a neurologic infection, whose results range from subtle changes in behavior to serious fatal problems. Unfortunately, Suman is one of those unlucky people who are facing one of it’s worst manifestations.
According to the doctors, until and unless Suman does not regain his voice and movement, which is expected to happen in a few years, he will have to remain under constant observation and care. He will be needed to change his breathing tube every 15 days, which will allow him to breathe without the use of his nose or mouth. He needs to be fed with the help of a feeding tube through his nose. The lowest total estimated expenditure for Suman’s care is Rs 650 per day for 3 years, which is Rs 702000 in total. *This expenditure does not take emergency conditions into account, like the time when the family had to spend Rs 7000 in Cuttack for transferring him suddenly in ventilation.
[Rs 650 is approximately equivalent to 7.2 GBP and 9.7 USD.
Rs 702000 is approximately equivalent to 7875 GBP and 10448 USD.
Rs 7000 is approximately equivalent to 78.5 GBP and 104 USD.]
While Kamdeo ji is a worker in Birsanagar, and he merely earns Rs 240 per day (approximately equivalent to 2.7 GBP and 3.6 USD), spending Rs 650 (which is 2.7 times his earning) a day is nearly impossible for him! In 2015, because of lack of infrastructure, Kamdeo ji had to shift Suman from a local hospital to a renowned one in Cuttack, Orissa. Because of the high expenses, he had to sell his land and put his house on mortgage to raise Rs 2,50,000. But unfortunately, soon they were left without much money, and Suman was forced to get discharged from the hospital in Cuttack, and to return back to Birsanagar.
He lays motionless in a cot, at the corner of his kapde ki jhopdi (cottage). He can’t move, speak or eat. Neither can he breathe properly. He requires proper care.
Kamdeo ji says that “Suman had been responding well to the treatment. He has even started to smile at me sometimes! I have a belief that if I am able to support my child’s prolonged treatment, he will recover. The doctors also say this. All I can hope is to properly treat Suman. He is all the hope that I have left in my life.”
He pleads everyone to help him save his child’s life. He says, “ever since my wife’s death on 2nd May 2013 because of heart attack, I feel completely broken and lost. If I could get help from you, I can save my child’s life!”
