Bhuban Ghosh, an agricultural labourer earned Rs 120 a day. Occasionally, he would earn Rs 200-300 a day for driving a ploughing tractor. Those few days, Ghosh family afforded the luxury of machar jhol ( fish curry) with rice and potatoes. The family of four did not have much but were content with their life in the small village of Goyalpura, West Bengal.
Today Bhuban is 30 and needs a double-valve replacement. You will find his father and younger brother walking across the hallways of Manipal Hospital, Bangalore trying to make sense of the numerous reports and scans. One look at his father's wrinkled eyes, and you know this 56-year-old is pained and scared to see his young son on a hospital bed plugged to wires. "They told me Bhuban needs surgery. Doctor Sir has assured us he can cure him. But he is the sole bread winner of the family, how can I not worry?" his eyes well up as he looks at the plastic bag full of reports and scans.
When a rheumatic fever was misdiagnosed as routine exhaustion
Bhuban complained of frequent breathing difficulties, weakness and fever. The government hospital sent him off with explanations like fatigue, dehydration on his every visit; a common complaint of among daily-wage labourers. But an episode of extreme fever and chest pain brought him to Bangalore earlier this year. After multiple tests, it was confirmed that Bhuban has a severe case of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), a heart condition causing extensive damage to the valves. Doctors suggested a double-valve replacement which could completely cure him. It was a moment of relief for Bhuban and his family to know that what was labelled as "routine exhaustion" had a fix. But the thought of a surgery petrified him, and so did its cost.
