Wednesday 30 November 2011

An innocent question


Why this facility is not available in our area?- The father of a child asked me.
I was sitting in my chamber when a person came to me with his 11 years old child suffering with cerebral palsy. While doing the physical assessment and talking , it became clear that they belong to a rural area of jehanabad district in bihar. He had settled himself in orissa some years ago.
while taking patient history,  i came to the fact that the mother of the child got injured during her pregnancy and because no doctor was available in that area, she taken medicines provided by a unqualified rural doctor. To make the matter worse, child birth was done in the home without the superviosion of any doctor.
The disability of the child remained unnoticed for early years and when the guardians noticed something not normal- they rushed to various hospitals. But, sadly, there was no specialized clinic for treating the cases related with disablity. The child needed occupational therapy and orthotic services but no clinic/agency/professional was available in that area and the guardian was not able to live in state capital patna to avail this facility.
Result? the condition of the child worsened in next coming yeas until the father of the child started the treatment in NIRTAR, ORISSA. After the treatment of three years, the child got improved in many aspects.
Now, during conversation,when he known that i also belonged to the same region, he fired the question- why this  type of organization and facilities are not available in our areas? if this type of facility becomes available in magadh, many persons can be saved from suffering disability . Many lives can be saved before they get spoiled by disability. Many children get disabled not by disease but lack of the medical facility which must be provided after getting the disease. He counted many cases of disabled children who were not so lucky to get medical facilities( just like his child) and the lives of that children of his village are completely ruined now and they have become not less than a burdrn on their families.
I pondered on his question- indeed, why rehabilitation facilities are not available in my area- magadh?Why good professionals are not there to serve there and to fight with disability?. Why there is lack of ngos in this sector?
who is responsible for the spoiled lives of disabled persons- govt. or society? or poverty or ignorance.? Perhaps all of these.
we can't reverse the past but certainly can think about the future so that no one will be disable due to lack of medical facilities, poverty and ignorance.
every sensitive citizen of the magadh area ( especially gaya and aurangabad) should think on this question so that  to eliminate the need of asking this question again in future-- Why this facility is not available in our area?

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