Nagpur: For nearly two months, a mother from Betul fought a lonely battle as her 3.5-year-old son Harsh battled renal failure and swelling in the brain at AIIMS Nagpur, caused by the toxic cough syrup Coldrif, that has already claimed lives of several kids.
With her husband in jail and no one to relieve her at the hospital, she survived on a single meal a day while staying by her son’s side in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Now, fortune has turned — her husband secured bail and is on way to Nagpur, while the little boy continues to fight for life.
“I will not go home without my son,” said Radha Yaduwanshi when asked if she would take a break and join her younger son back home in Betul.
Harsh suffered renal failure around September 26 after being allegedly administered the toxic cold syrup Coldrif, which was found to have contained the poisonous industrial chemical diethylene glycol. The toxic drug, manufactured by Tamil Nadu-based Sresan Pharmaceutical Ltd, has claimed the lives of at least 24 kids, mainly from Parasia block of Chhindwara district in Madhya Pradesh.
Among all the affected children, only two — Harsh and five-year-old Kunal Yaduwanshi from Parasia — have survived after the tragedy unravelled in August. While Kunal has been shifted to the general ward and is off the ventilator, doctors say his condition remains critical.
Radha spends her days talking to her unconscious son, urging him to wake up so they can return home. “He doesn’t respond, but I keep talking to him. Maybe he can still hear me,” she said.
Doctors said Harsh’s kidney functions have restored, but he is still in a coma. “He was taken off the ventilator once and was able to breathe on his own. Still, it is too early to say anything. Our concern is his brain function. He is malnourished because of a prolonged stay on the ventilator, and the danger of hospital-acquired infection is always there,” they said.
A month before Harsh fell victim to the cough syrup, his father Gokul, a farmer, was arrested and put behind bars. He was granted 48-hour bail on the day Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav visited AIIMS Nagpur to see the kids. “That was the only time I met Gokul at Nagpur. Now I am happy that he will be with us, and we shall go back together,” Radha said.
Being all by herself, an anxious Radha preferred to have a meal only once a day so that she is not away from her son for long. “The hospital provides food and lodging for relatives, but I didn’t want to go far from Harsh. My in-laws are caring for my younger son and can’t stay back for such a long time with me. My brother and brother-in-law supported me financially, but it was not much. Hence, I would buy food just once a day to cut expenses,” she said.
AIIMS officials said the MP govt is funding the treatment of both the kids, and all out-of-pocket expenses incurred on treatment too would be reimbursed.
