12-yr-old NRI from Japan donates his four years' savings to fund poor girl's operation
While every kid in the neighbourhood had fun playing, 12-yearold Baby Anjum just sat in a corner and watched. She had been hit by scoliosis - a spine deformity when she was two. When her parents threw up their hands in despair, a 12-year-old boy of Indian origin in Japan put a smile on her face by giving away the pocket-money he had saved, towards the girl's medical treatment.
The condition of Baby Anjum, who hails from Kalaburagi, had been worsening with every passing day as her father Mehboob Patel could not afford her specialised medical treatment with his meagre income, required to support a family of six that includes his wife and three children.
He told Bangalore Mirror, "I took her to many hospitals, but the cost of surgery was close to Rs 2 lakh and that was impossible to afford. With every passing day, it increased, but there was barely anything I could do. We were also told that it would get worse and she would eventually develop other related disorders." The family had lost all hope, but decided to give it one last shot by getting Baby Anjum to Bengaluru. She was brought to People Tree Hospital in Yeshwanthpur after they saw an advertisement in a local newspaper. Patel saw hope when the doctors told him that his daughter could be operated upon, but it would cost Rs 1.5 lakh. He said, "I told the doctors that I did not have the money. They could have easily let me go, but they told me they would try and find a donor."
After that, several doctors from the hospital shared her condition on Facebook and it was widely shared across the globe. The post was spotted by a microbiologist, Shrihari Chandraghatgi, who is the president and CEO of Ecocycle Corporation, a company that deals with technologies pertaining to environment. Chandraghatgi is a native of Siddapura and has been in Japan since 2000 after his PhD, with his wife and two sons. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Chandraghatgi said, "I showed the post to my son, Sahil, 12, and told him there is a girl in India suffering from Scoliosis and she needed surgery which would cost a lot of money. I asked him if he wanted to be of any help. He told me he spent all his money buying Christmas gifts for his friends. But he immediately said I could use all of his savings in the bank for the past four years which he was planning to spend on travels and trips.
"He offered to give whatever he saved (120,000 Yen). I told him he should give it to Baby Anjum so that she could be treated. Chandraghatgi flew to Bengaluru in December and handed over the money to the hospital and also met Baby Anjum and her family. The surgery was done in March. Dr Chandrashekar Chikkamuniyappa, CEO and senior joint replacement surgeon, People Tree Hospital, said, "Both the hospital and the family were extremely pleased by this noble initiative. We shared the post in November and he met Baby Anjum and gave us a cheque in December."
The joy of a helpless father knew no bounds after the surgery. Baby Anjum was so happy that she could now play like other children that she wrote a thank you note to him that says: "Before my operation, I used to walk slowly and I could not play games. After the operation, I am so excited that I can play like other kids. A big thank you to Shrihari Sir! When I grow up, I want to become a doctor."
After surgery, she is able to do everything normally. At People Tree Hospital, she was operated on by a team headed by senior spine surgeon Dr Gowri Shankar, who said, "The child has Congenital Scoliosis which happens when there is a deviation in the spine. It is a developmental disorder. We operated on her in March and the whole surgery was done in 5-6 hours. Now she can go about her activities normally and play just like other kids."
The happiest of all after the surgery was Sahil. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, he said, "When my father told me this girl could not afford the surgery, I was anguished as to how could someone not be operated on because of lack of money. I gave the money I had as I really wanted this girl to lead a better life."
Source: Banaglore Mirror, 27th April 2015
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