The lockdown triggered by COVID-19 has completely eclipsed the plight of not only those stricken by other ailments but also people suffering heart attack or stroke, which can rarely be predicted.
Their family doctors are mostly unreachable; transport is not easy to find — either for them to get to hospital or for their relatives to reach them; and even if they do get to the nearest hospital, there’s no guarantee they will be attended to in the first place, leave alone promptly.
There would be dozens, if not hundreds, in Kolkata alone, particularly the elderly , who could do with timely medical help but in the absence of it — due to the lockdown and paranoid hospitals — are left to fend for themselves.
Also read: In Kolkata, enterprising citizens reach medicines, groceries to the elderly
Priyadarshan Sen, 75, who lives alone in Jadavpur, was lucky. He suffered a stroke after the lockdown extension announcement but is recovering now in a hospital, all because of his alert sister, Sudeshna Chakraborti, herself a senior citizen and retired teacher.
Ms. Chakraborti describes the harrowing time she had: “My brother never learned to cook, so his dependence on his helps was absolute. When the lockdown started they would come but then they were stopped by neighbours. I was very concerned because he’s a diabetic and suffers from hypertension. After searching on Google I zeroed in on a person in Bagha Jatin who agreed to supply him with cooked meals.”
“I was counting on the lockdown to be lifted on April 14 and was thanking my lucky stars that he had managed to survive alone so far. On the late evening of April 13, he started complaining of a severe stomach ache. I asked him to contact his doctor, who did not take the call. The local pharmacy, run by a very helpful man, too had shut down. The police, when contacted, said they had no one who could go over with any medicine before 11 a.m. the next day. He swallowed a digestive and went to bed.”
Also read:Coronavirus | Centre issues advisory for senior citizens
“I spent a near sleepless night. In the morning all my phone calls went unanswered. I was panic stricken, apprehending the worst. I got in touch with the younger of my brothers. He too couldn’t get through. I decided come what may, we would have to go over. While I was getting ready, my husband managed to get my brother to pick up the phone. But his speech was slurred and words were garbled.”
“A former doctor student of mine contacted a hospital that agreed to take him in provided he was accompanied by a family member. We still hadn’t got an ambulance. We contacted Pronam, a Kolkata Police initiative for senior citizens. They asked for the nature of his illness and gave us a number.”
“By then my younger brother managed to get in touch with his sister-in-law, who’s a doctor. She spoke to the authorities of Mediview Nursing Home on Broad Street, who agreed to take my brother in provided he didn’t have fever at the time of arrival. They also agreed to send an ambulance.”
“Meanwhile a young man we know agreed to take us to my brother’s house. While my younger brother arrived with the ambulance my husband and I reached my brother’s house. I found him sitting at an odd angle on the sofa. The door was open but the grill was locked. The key was lying in a place that could only be reached with a stick. After a great deal of manipulation we could get at the key and go in. The three young men accompanying the ambulance were kind and helpful. They put my brother into the vehicle and left.”
“The rest of the events went off comparatively smoothly. My brother, after being admitted, managed to convey where his Aadhaar card and other documents were. The physician, Dr. N. Guha, started the treatment immediately based on his observations. He didn’t wish to go in for scans just then for fear of infection. He told us that it was a stroke as his blood sugar and pressure were both very high.”
“The doctor and the skeleton nursing staff have been very kind and caring. My brother’s condition is stable and if all goes well he will be released later this week. But I realise how helpless the average person is when everything is shut and even the minimum of help seems like a gift from above. We knew people but most others know no one. What happens to them? Just because of COVID-19, other chronic illnesses have not retired from the world.”
