Monday morning brought some cheer for two-year-old Suraj’s family, which has been running from pillar to post to get the much-needed medical help for the child.
Suraj, who was born in June 2014 with Chiari I malformation and needed surgery for draining out cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that has been accumulating in his brain, was extended a helping hand by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Monday.
The hospital has admitted the boy and started his medical tests.
The child’s entire medical treatment, which would have cost somewhere around Rs 1.25 lakh, will be free of cost.
Over the next few days, doctors would perform tests on Suraj to see if he needs surgery and check for any infection in the fluid that has accumulated in his brain. Thereafter, the course of action would be decided.
Suraj’s father Anil, a helper at an Ashok Vihar-based hospital, took the boy to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the morning for a check-up.
Initially, he was told to come back after some time as beds were not available.
Lucky break
A disappointed Anil returned to his home in Narela but soon received a call from the hospital asking him to come back as one of the patients in the EWS category had been discharged and another in the waiting list was not in the need of any urgent medical intervention.
When Anil went back to the hospital, Suraj was admitted immediately.
“Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has been committed to providing free treatment to the poor. We have always given medical treatment to the poor, irrespective of them belonging to the EWS category. This child, Suraj, would be examined for any possible infection in the CSF in his brain and then we will see if he really needs surgery,” said Dr D.S. Rana, chairman, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
“His is a case where he had been waiting for medical help for long. There are many such cases where patients, who have been refused treatment in other hospitals, even government hospitals, have been treated at the Ganga Ram Hospital,” said Dr Rana.
The hospital provides 20 per cent of its 675 beds for poor patients.
The Hindu had carried a report on Suraj’s long wait for medical help in its May 13 edition.
Suraj suffers from Chairi I, a condition where CSF starts accumulating in the brain, making the head bigger and heavier than the body, with a potential risk of mental disability.
Long struggle
He was first referred to AIIMS where he was given an estimate of Rs. 26,037 for a surgery that was scheduled on April 8, 2016.
The ESIC deposited the money after the Delhi High Court ordered the same, but AIIMS had a long waiting list.
Anil’s advocate and social activist Ashok Agarwal then approached VIMHANS for Suraj’s treatment under the EWS category, but the request was turned down due to the absence of a minor OT. It was then that Anil decided to take Suraj to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
