Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Girl finds tenderness in hospital ward

T.V. Sivanandan

RECOVERING: Pinky at the Government General Hospital in Gulbarga

GULBARGA: Pinky is a darling of the staff of the Government General Hospital here. The four-year-old, with sparkling black eyes and a beautiful smile, is in the special ward for abandoned children.

The hospital employees had named her Vaishnavi. She soon won their hearts and they decided to call her Pinky.

When she was found abandoned near the blood bank in the hospital a month ago, Pinky was weak and weighed only 6 kg. Her haemoglobin count was low. Doctors who performed the initial tests on the child said she had little chance of surviving.

Senior staff nurse Kamala Paulraj and others posted to the ward decided they owed it to Pinky to nurse her back to health. They gave her special attention and brought her home food in addition to bread and milk available at the hospital. They succeeded in their mission: they have managed to help her put on 3 kg and increase her haemoglobin count substantially. However, she is still weak and cannot sit up on her own. Pinky has caught the attention of VIPs and other visitors to the ward where entry is restricted.

Recently, Medical Education Minister Iqbal Ansari spent some time there and enquired after Pinky.

Ms. Paulraj said Pinky has no physical or mental deformity. However, she does not speak. But nothing can stop her from expressing her affection for those who have given her warmth and care in the ward that has three other inmates — a mentally challenged child and two newborns.

Ms. Paulraj said that in a few years, the children will be placed in adoption centres recognised by the Government. Who knows, they may still find loving parents and a home to call their own.

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Girl finds tenderness in hospital ward

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