When Kochi native Shinoj AM saw his wife Rajalakshmi for the last time 14 days ago, she was healthy and pregnant with twins, something the couple had been hoping would happen for 10 years. But when Shinoj spoke to TNM on Monday over phone, Rajalakshmi, who has COVID-19, and the twin newborns she delivered, are all in critical condition.
Shinoj, a daily wage labourer who recently returned home from a COVID-19 treatment centre after turning negative for the disease, is on the verge of tears as he pleads for help to raise Rs 10 lakhs, the cost of treatment for his wife and children. Though Rajalakshmi was initially admitted at a government hospital in Ernakulam, due to lack of advanced facilities, the family was asked to shift her to a multispeciality hospital. But for the family, the estimates at the private hospital are an unfathomable amount.
Rajalakshmi delivered the twins safely through a c-section at Sunrise Hospital in Kakkanad, but she is now clinging to life on ventilator support at the private hospital in Kochi. The babies also are in critical care at Sunrise Hospital as one has COVID-19 as well, while the other was found to have pneumonia.
“We got married 11 years ago and for the past 10 years we have been undergoing various treatments for a child. We raised Rs 8 lakhs for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment by selling all that we had, our house and land. Now I’m left with nothing to meet the treatment expenses of my wife and children. I’m still in quarantine and I don’t know whom to turn for help,” Shinoj tells TNM.
It was on September 14 that Rajalakshmi, who was admitted to hospital with a fever, was diagnosed with COVID-19. Soon, her husband and his parents, who were living with them, were also found to have the disease. On Sunday, Shinoj and his parents, who were asymptomatic, tested negative and returned to their home for quarantine.
“On September 14, after diagnosing COVID-19, she was admitted in Government Medical College Hospital at Kalamassery in Ernakulam. But her condition worsened as she had diabetes and asthma. On the second day, I got a call from the Medical College Hospital officials saying that it is better if she is shifted to a multispeciality hospital, which can provide her with advanced care, as she is also eight months pregnant with twins. Though we contacted many private hospitals in Kochi, no one was willing to admit her. Finally, it was the Sunrise Hospital in Kakkanad who expressed willingness to admit her,” says Sinoj.
He says that as her condition continued to worsen, the babies were delivered through a c-section on September 18.
“She has been on ventilator support ever since. The last time I talked to her over the phone, she had severe breathing issues. The doctors have said her condition is a little better but she cannot be taken off the ventilator. The hospital bill for the treatment till date is Rs 10 lakhs,” he said. Shinoj’s friends who have been trying to raise money have so far managed to raise one lakh for the family.
“There is absolutely no means for me to raise this huge amount of money to save my wife and children. I don’t even have anything to sell again. I want to save them somehow,” Shinoj says desperately.
Shinoj's bank account details:
Shinoj A M
Union Bank of India
A/C NO. 408902010011159
IFSC Code: UBIN0540897
Branch: Pambaimoola, Edakochi