The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Bright career jeopardised

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Monday, Jun 23, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Bright career jeopardised

Staff Reporter

Raghavendra (22) afflicted by a rare disease

Father, a toddy tapper, unable to meet expenses
Disease not mentioned in Rajiv Arogyasri card

Helpless: Raghavendra who is suffering from ankylosis spondylitis, with his family in Kamanpur mandal in Karimnagar district.

KAMANPUR (KARIMNAGAR DT): The career of a bright student has been cut short, courtesy “ankylosis spondylitis” (AS) and more important, poverty, as his parents do not have the wherewithal to meet his medical expenses. And as a result, the poor boy is tied up to bed since one-and-half years. He belongs to Kamanpur mandal headquarters in the district.

V. Raghavendra (22), a son of a toddy-tapper in Kamanpur mandal was studying B com second year at the Government Degree College, Peddapalli. Suddenly, he developed backache and became immobile. His parents took him to the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad, where the doctors could reduce the pains of the patient with the help of financial assistance provided by the Chief Minister’s relief fund. Though, the Chief Minister’s relief fund could help the boy to walk with the support of a walker, the disease was not cured permanently. The ambitious Rajiv Arogyasri health insurance card was also not helpful to the student as there was no mention of treatment of AS disease. The NIMS doctors suggested surgery and implantation of balls in the hip joints for complete cure of the disease and estimated the cost at Rs 3.6 lakh. However poverty forced the young boy to remain immobile and lead a life of a recluse in his house.

Dream shattered

Raghavendra says, “I have a dream to study and secure a government job and help my illiterate parents. But my dreams have been shattered abruptly. I would walk and fulfill my vision only if some philanthropists come forward for the conduct of surgery for the treatment of disease”.

“My elder brother had committed suicide because of non-availability of financial assistance for the treatment of asthma disease three years ago. I would also be forced to commit suicide if my disease is not cured, because I do not like to be a burden on my poor parents, who have already incurred huge amount on my medical expenses,” he wailed.

His father Ramulu said that he was unable to provide necessary medical assistance to his son because of his poverty. Raghavendra’s younger brother Venkatesh is likely to stop education in spite of securing 6,156 rank in the Eamcet 2008 in the medical stream.

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