Internet cable that snapped her connectivity with family
Dennis S. Jesudasan
CHENNAI, November 30, 2017 00:00 IST
M. Shalini taking care of her mother Padheswari at her house in ChennaiM. VedhanM. Vedhan
16-year-old girl quits studies to take care of bed-ridden mother
The accident near Kathipara Junction here on the fateful night of August 28 last year, had turned the lives of R. Murugesan and his family members upside down. The native of Kallal in Sivaganga district was riding his bike with his wife A. Padheswari in the pillion when a low-hanging ‘internet cable’, presumably invisible in the mid-night light, pulled them down.
“I survived with a neck injury as I was wearing a helmet but my wife hit her head against the ground. After all the treatment given to her for a year and four months, she is still bed-ridden and not able to recognise anyone,” recalls Murugesan residing at an informal settlement in Radhakrishnapuram off Greenways Road.
Swelling in brain
Padheswari was rushed to a nearby hospital and then shifted to a reputed private hospital on Greams Road the same night, where she was treated for 14 days.
“They told us that her brain swelled and they operated open her skull to make space for the swelled brain. For those 14 days, the bill came up to Rs. 13 lakh and it was paid by the cable contractor,” says Murugesan.
However, the contractor said he could not pay anymore and took a signature from Murugesan that he was not associated with the accident.
“Though some people urged us to file a police complaint against him, how can I do that when he had spent over Rs. 13 lakh for my wife’s treatment?” asks Murugesan.
Padheswari was shifted to Government Multi-Super-Speciality Hospital but that did not last for long, as he was worried about the treatment given there. “The nurses did not even clean the patient!” he rues.
Costly treatment
He shifted the patient again to another private hospital. “But, since I was not able to pay, I moved her to a care-taking home and since I could not meet the expenses there too, I had no other option but to shift her home.” But, even at home, medicine, electricity for the air-conditioner for the patient to avoid infection, amenities cost about Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 40,000 every month.
As he was told that a home nurse would cost him about Rs. 15,000 a month, their daughter M. Shalini was asked to quit studies, who was Class 12 student in Lady Sivaswamy Ayyar Girls Higher Secondary School in Mylapore. Her 11-year old brother M. Sanjay goes to school.
“My teachers told me I can still write my Class XII board exams as a private candidate. But, I have to take care of my mother,” says the girl. From feeding liquid food to her mother through a pipe and washing her clothes to cutting fruits for her juice, Shalini’s responsibilities keeps her busy all through the day.
The family, which already has outstanding debt up to Rs. 8 lakh, is staring at an uncertain future, even as they hope to see Padheswari get back on her feet someday.
Dennis S. Jesudasan
CHENNAI, November 30, 2017 00:00 IST
M. Shalini taking care of her mother Padheswari at her house in ChennaiM. VedhanM. Vedhan
16-year-old girl quits studies to take care of bed-ridden mother
The accident near Kathipara Junction here on the fateful night of August 28 last year, had turned the lives of R. Murugesan and his family members upside down. The native of Kallal in Sivaganga district was riding his bike with his wife A. Padheswari in the pillion when a low-hanging ‘internet cable’, presumably invisible in the mid-night light, pulled them down.
“I survived with a neck injury as I was wearing a helmet but my wife hit her head against the ground. After all the treatment given to her for a year and four months, she is still bed-ridden and not able to recognise anyone,” recalls Murugesan residing at an informal settlement in Radhakrishnapuram off Greenways Road.
Swelling in brain
Padheswari was rushed to a nearby hospital and then shifted to a reputed private hospital on Greams Road the same night, where she was treated for 14 days.
“They told us that her brain swelled and they operated open her skull to make space for the swelled brain. For those 14 days, the bill came up to Rs. 13 lakh and it was paid by the cable contractor,” says Murugesan.
However, the contractor said he could not pay anymore and took a signature from Murugesan that he was not associated with the accident.
“Though some people urged us to file a police complaint against him, how can I do that when he had spent over Rs. 13 lakh for my wife’s treatment?” asks Murugesan.
Padheswari was shifted to Government Multi-Super-Speciality Hospital but that did not last for long, as he was worried about the treatment given there. “The nurses did not even clean the patient!” he rues.
Costly treatment
He shifted the patient again to another private hospital. “But, since I was not able to pay, I moved her to a care-taking home and since I could not meet the expenses there too, I had no other option but to shift her home.” But, even at home, medicine, electricity for the air-conditioner for the patient to avoid infection, amenities cost about Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 40,000 every month.
As he was told that a home nurse would cost him about Rs. 15,000 a month, their daughter M. Shalini was asked to quit studies, who was Class 12 student in Lady Sivaswamy Ayyar Girls Higher Secondary School in Mylapore. Her 11-year old brother M. Sanjay goes to school.
“My teachers told me I can still write my Class XII board exams as a private candidate. But, I have to take care of my mother,” says the girl. From feeding liquid food to her mother through a pipe and washing her clothes to cutting fruits for her juice, Shalini’s responsibilities keeps her busy all through the day.
The family, which already has outstanding debt up to Rs. 8 lakh, is staring at an uncertain future, even as they hope to see Padheswari get back on her feet someday.
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