Max
06-03-2003, 07:11 PM
Paralysed pole victim lives on
By: Shailesh Bhatia
May 26, 2003
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Even as a killer pole claimed yet another life last week, the victim of a similar railway mishap continues to live in a state of semi-coma, two years after the accident.
Anil Gupta (18) was struck by a railway pole as he leaned out of the train at Dockyard Road, leaving him completely paralysed.
"When one member is unwell in the house for so long, it feels like the entire family is ailing," said his mother Sheela Gupta, who lives in Guru Tegh Bhadur Nagar, Sion.
The fateful events of June 16 are still fresh in her memory. "The doctors gave us 36 hours and asked us to be prepared for the worst. My son survived, but never gained full consciousness or the movement of his limbs," she said.
After nearly six months of extensive treatment and hospitalisation in Jaslok hospital, the Guptas were told to take their son home as nothing more could be done for him. Keeping a full-time nurse was not feasible so it was up to the mother to take care of Anil.
"Gone are the days when Anil would be all over the house, cracking jokes with family and friends. Now he just lies in an isolated room, where we have been advised to keep him to avoid infection," said Anil's elder brother Sunil.
"At times he breaks into a smile when the family gathers around him and tries to cheer him up. But he cannot express his feelings verbally or physically, so we are not sure if he really understands," he added.
The chances of complete recovery of patients suffering from brain damage are low as the brain does not have the capacity to regenerate, said Dr Praveena Shah, ex-head of the neurology department at KEM Hospital.
Therefore trying to predict how long a patient can pull along in a semi conscious state is impossible, she added.
Dr Mohit Bhatt, who had treated Anil said that though he had sustained multiple injuries to the head, the portion of the brain that controls vital organs was intact, which was the reason he had survived for two years.
Medical opinions apart, Sheela's hopes of seeing her teenaged son back to his normal self remain as high as ever. "Nazar lag jayegi," she said, when we requested a picture of her son.
http://web.mid-day.com/news/city/2003/may/53923.htm
By: Shailesh Bhatia
May 26, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even as a killer pole claimed yet another life last week, the victim of a similar railway mishap continues to live in a state of semi-coma, two years after the accident.
Anil Gupta (18) was struck by a railway pole as he leaned out of the train at Dockyard Road, leaving him completely paralysed.
"When one member is unwell in the house for so long, it feels like the entire family is ailing," said his mother Sheela Gupta, who lives in Guru Tegh Bhadur Nagar, Sion.
The fateful events of June 16 are still fresh in her memory. "The doctors gave us 36 hours and asked us to be prepared for the worst. My son survived, but never gained full consciousness or the movement of his limbs," she said.
After nearly six months of extensive treatment and hospitalisation in Jaslok hospital, the Guptas were told to take their son home as nothing more could be done for him. Keeping a full-time nurse was not feasible so it was up to the mother to take care of Anil.
"Gone are the days when Anil would be all over the house, cracking jokes with family and friends. Now he just lies in an isolated room, where we have been advised to keep him to avoid infection," said Anil's elder brother Sunil.
"At times he breaks into a smile when the family gathers around him and tries to cheer him up. But he cannot express his feelings verbally or physically, so we are not sure if he really understands," he added.
The chances of complete recovery of patients suffering from brain damage are low as the brain does not have the capacity to regenerate, said Dr Praveena Shah, ex-head of the neurology department at KEM Hospital.
Therefore trying to predict how long a patient can pull along in a semi conscious state is impossible, she added.
Dr Mohit Bhatt, who had treated Anil said that though he had sustained multiple injuries to the head, the portion of the brain that controls vital organs was intact, which was the reason he had survived for two years.
Medical opinions apart, Sheela's hopes of seeing her teenaged son back to his normal self remain as high as ever. "Nazar lag jayegi," she said, when we requested a picture of her son.
http://web.mid-day.com/news/city/2003/may/53923.htm