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Hers are the most magical hands. Warm, caring and healing everything they touch. But now those hands have become cold - rigid, swollen and devoid of any sensation or movement.
Ours is the perfect family - a dream come true. My mom always wanted a boy, and my dad wanted a girl. Both their wishes were granted when my brother and I were born as twins.
Late February 2019, my mom complained of giddiness and imbalance. On 1st March 2019, an MRI brain scan done at Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune (Wanowrie branch) revealed that mom had 4 strokes in different parts of her brain. She was severely disoriented, confused and hallucinating. Subsequently, we took her to Nobel Hospital where she was admitted to the ICU the very same day.
But the worst was yet to come..
5 days after being in the ICU at Noble Hospital, her condition worsened. She was diagnosed with encephalitis (brain inflammation) caused by a viral infection. The virus that caused the encephalitis is very rare (1 in 500,000). Without treatment, 70% of the cases result in death.
On 31st March 2019, my brother and I spent our birthday in the ICU at Noble hospital, trying to wake mom up. On 18th April, after 50 days in the ICU at Noble hospital, we decided to shift our mom to the ICU at Ruby Hall Clinic (Sasoon Road branch).
As of 5th May 2019, my mom has been in the ICU for 66 days. It's been a tough journey for us and our mother battling it out in the ICU. My mom has been on ventilator support since 11th March. She has no hand or leg movements and is fast asleep most of the times. She gets multiple seizures throughout the day and it is extremely painful to see her suffer so much. Despite all the challenges thrown at her, my mom is still alive, breathing and fighting to live. She has recently started showing small signs of progress in the form of opening her eyes and maintaining eye contact with anyone who walks in to see her. She is also looking at different objects when we point our hands towards them.
The last MRI that was done on 8th April shows that there is moderate reduction in the inflammation in the brain.
These are the first small positive signs towards recovery, and I am determined to do everything I can to get mom back home. It doesn't look like mom is giving up and I am not going to give up on her either. The first major milestone is trying to remove mom's dependency on the ventilator for breathing. Once my mom can breathe without the ventilator, the rest of the treatment and neurological rehabilitation can be done in a hospital ward.
As per the Neurologist on my mom's case , there is still hope and my mom will be able to walk out of the hospital once she recovers; however, this is going to be a long journey and it is difficult to say how much more time my mom will have to be in the ICU. I have been told that we need to be patient and take things one day at a time.
I have already spent close to INR 25 Lakh (including medicines) on my mom's treatment. The average cost per day as of today is anywhere between INR 40,000 - 60,000. We as a family have managed to pay the bills so far with the help of our life savings, a medical insurance and two medical loans. We are now very close to exhausting all the sources for financing our mom's treatment.
This is why I have turned to external sources of funding through donations. I need your help and support in this difficult time in my life so that I can continue my mom's treatment without bringing it to a halt abruptly. As of now, I want to raise an amount that we feel will be sufficient to continue her treatment both in and out of the hospital. In addition to the donations, please also pray for my mom. This will give her strength to fight the disease and be victorious.
Ours is the perfect family - a dream come true. My mom always wanted a boy, and my dad wanted a girl. Both their wishes were granted when my brother and I were born as twins.
Late February 2019, my mom complained of giddiness and imbalance. On 1st March 2019, an MRI brain scan done at Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune (Wanowrie branch) revealed that mom had 4 strokes in different parts of her brain. She was severely disoriented, confused and hallucinating. Subsequently, we took her to Nobel Hospital where she was admitted to the ICU the very same day.
But the worst was yet to come..
5 days after being in the ICU at Noble Hospital, her condition worsened. She was diagnosed with encephalitis (brain inflammation) caused by a viral infection. The virus that caused the encephalitis is very rare (1 in 500,000). Without treatment, 70% of the cases result in death.
On 31st March 2019, my brother and I spent our birthday in the ICU at Noble hospital, trying to wake mom up. On 18th April, after 50 days in the ICU at Noble hospital, we decided to shift our mom to the ICU at Ruby Hall Clinic (Sasoon Road branch).
As of 5th May 2019, my mom has been in the ICU for 66 days. It's been a tough journey for us and our mother battling it out in the ICU. My mom has been on ventilator support since 11th March. She has no hand or leg movements and is fast asleep most of the times. She gets multiple seizures throughout the day and it is extremely painful to see her suffer so much. Despite all the challenges thrown at her, my mom is still alive, breathing and fighting to live. She has recently started showing small signs of progress in the form of opening her eyes and maintaining eye contact with anyone who walks in to see her. She is also looking at different objects when we point our hands towards them.
The last MRI that was done on 8th April shows that there is moderate reduction in the inflammation in the brain.
These are the first small positive signs towards recovery, and I am determined to do everything I can to get mom back home. It doesn't look like mom is giving up and I am not going to give up on her either. The first major milestone is trying to remove mom's dependency on the ventilator for breathing. Once my mom can breathe without the ventilator, the rest of the treatment and neurological rehabilitation can be done in a hospital ward.
As per the Neurologist on my mom's case , there is still hope and my mom will be able to walk out of the hospital once she recovers; however, this is going to be a long journey and it is difficult to say how much more time my mom will have to be in the ICU. I have been told that we need to be patient and take things one day at a time.
I have already spent close to INR 25 Lakh (including medicines) on my mom's treatment. The average cost per day as of today is anywhere between INR 40,000 - 60,000. We as a family have managed to pay the bills so far with the help of our life savings, a medical insurance and two medical loans. We are now very close to exhausting all the sources for financing our mom's treatment.
This is why I have turned to external sources of funding through donations. I need your help and support in this difficult time in my life so that I can continue my mom's treatment without bringing it to a halt abruptly. As of now, I want to raise an amount that we feel will be sufficient to continue her treatment both in and out of the hospital. In addition to the donations, please also pray for my mom. This will give her strength to fight the disease and be victorious.
I thank you for your time and look forward to your support in helping me bring my mom back home.
