BENGALURU: Hope soared when many Bengalureans responded generously by sending money to the family of 14-year-old Rahul D, who had been bedridden since birth with cerebral palsy, and had to undergo a surgery costing Rs 1.1 lakh.
The boy successfully underwent the operation and doctors too were optimistic about his recovery. But fate took a cruel turn on Tuesday afternoon when his condition deteriorated and he passed away.
Rahul underwent a surgery for a fractured leg and a rod was fitted on January 18. A report in TOI — Covid, mishap push bedridden boy’s family to the brink — on January 22 detailed Rahul’s condition and his family’s financial constraints and how the surgery would cost them Rs 1.1 lakh. Several TOI readers responded by helping the family with money and wishing the child a speedy recovery. Rahul’s father Dalpath told the reporter that the surgery was successful and Rahul was discharged on January 23.
However, on Tuesday, when the reporter called to check on Rahul’s health, an inconsolable Dalpath said: “He stopped eating on Monday night. I rushed to get our doctor on Tuesday morning, who assured me that we had looked after Rahul for 14 years and nothing would happen to him now. But by 1pm, we lost him.”
“I cannot thank everyone enough for their help. I got new confidence and hope when I began getting innumerable calls from people following the TOI report and received around Rs 3 lakh via Google Pay and account transfers. The surgery and medicines cost us Rs 2,00,000 and we had planned to keep the remaining amount aside for Rahul’s post-surgery care,” he said.
Rahul’s sudden death has left the family broken, but Dalpath says his hope in humanity has only grown. “I could not imagine that we would receive help so quickly. But just when everything looked better, our world has crashed,” he said.
A doctor, who had followed Rahul’s reports and surgery said the boy had battled hard with cerebral palsy and epileptic fits. “Any kind of surgery or procedure in such cases is always risky. The family did not have enough resources to provide him required specialised care earlier and he was already malnourished,” she said, adding that in spite of their financial condition and Rahul remaining bedridden, the family had gone to great lengths for his health.
Rahul’s family spent over Rs 15 lakh on his treatment since his birth and Dalpath was even forced to sell his shop to meet medical expenses. He now earns Rs 10,000 a month working as a shop helper in Electronics City.
