Kolkata, Nov 14: What happens when a six year old child is brought with two failed kidneys? What happens when an iron rod travelling at a lethal pace from the second storey of a building pierces an 11 year old girl? What happens when a baby is born just 25 weeks into the womb weighing 600gms? What happens when a six year old is brought with Dengue induced complications resulting in convulsion and bleeding into lungs?
They fight hand-in-hand with the doctors. They cheat death. They celebrate life. In this age and time when the world is ruled by adult values and norms, Fortis Hospital Anandapur feels humbled in saluting these indomitable spirits on this Children’s Day felicitating them as FORTIS SUPERHEROES.
Speaking on the occasion, Samir Singh, Zonal Director, Fortis Healthcare Ltd (East), said: “Children’s day is celebrated to give respect, support and encouragement to the next generation. In a world where children are progressively being seen as passive recipients of an adult run societies values, beliefs and norms, it is important to enable the society to begin recognizing children as active participants of societal change and growth. These little angels have proven they are fighters and are great idols for us adults to emulate. We are celebrating life, our future and also our doctors who never lost heart.”
Activities on Children’s Day at Fortis:-
- The “Caped Crusaders” –
- Using cloth capes, paint and sketch pens children will design their own super capes that represent their unique abilities and qualities.
- The “Super Wall”–
- Where children, caregivers, as well as hospital staff and administrators can come and write about the real superhero’s in their lives
- The “Memory stand” where a super hero card board cutout will be available for children to take photographs after completing their capes and become fully ordained hero’s
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sanjay Garg, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Fortis Hospital Anandapur, said “Every child is a real life super hero, they have within themselves the power to don their very own cape and save the world in their own special way”.
Dr Rajiv Sinha, Consultant Paediatric Nephrology, Fortis Hospital Anandapur said: “This event is organised to celebrate those children who has come out from serious disease for example a child who lost both of the kidney because of in born problems and then came for dialysis and finally went for a transplant. Both of this is quite big procedure but they fought it and have survived. So they are the Hero to us. It’s celebrating their spirit of fighting and survival”.
Case Study: Dr Rajiv Sinha
Shayak Banerjee was a healthy normal child at 4 and half years growing up in Singhali village in Bardhaman. His father was a security guard and mother a housewife. One day he returned with a headache and later diagnosis revealed renal failure. After one and half years of running around from Kolkata to Bangalore, he was brought to Fortis to Dr Rajiv Sinha. Several doctors had returned the case as kidney transplant was not possible unless he was 15 to 20 kgs.
Dr. Rajiv Sinha, who is paediatric kidney specialist, began the long fight with Shayak to recovery. On the eve of 30th December, 2013 Shayak, who was suffering from acute headache, lost consciousness. The doctors of Bardhaman hospital gave up all hopes of his survival. He was brought at that state to Dr Sinha.
With help of Dr. Rajiv Sinha, Dr. Arup Ratan Dutta, Dr. Shivaji Basu, Dr. Paramita Tribedi, Dr. Agnisekhar Saha, Dr. Subhashis Saha, Dr. Sanjay Gogui and Fortis Hospital began the mission of attaining the impossible and the kidney transplant started. With 12.5 kg at the age of 6 years this transplant case remains one of a kind among the history of kidney transplants. Shayak got back a new life with the help and tiresome effort of the doctors and caregivers at Fortis Hospital Anandapur.
Shayak is now a regular school goer and he came 3rd in his second term examination. He has promised his parents to come first in final examination. His parent’s happiness now has no boundaries.
Dr. Sumita Saha, Consultant Neonatologist and Paediatrician, Fortis Hospital Anandapur said,” Fortis provides State of the Art facilities at Neo-Natal unit for babies fighting Congenital abnormalities and for those who require critical surgeries. Fortis also provides all equipped ambulances for us to go and pick critically ill babies from other Nursing Homes at odd hours. This event is to celebrate the survival instinct of such kids and we at Fortis stand united to salute the spirit of such superheroes”
Case Study : Dr Sumita Saha
Mrs. Swati Ghosh (name changed) of Ashoke Nagar (name changed), North 24 Parganas finally conceived after three earlier failed attempts at artificial insemination. To say the least, she and her army-man husband, Pabitra were overjoyed. After all, it is not every day that a 45 year old woman and a 58 year old man achieve a viable and successful pregnancy. Unbeknownst to the Ghoshs’ though, lay ahead a long battle albeit with a happy ending. This battle had probably all components of a medical thriller replete with neonatal crisis, hopelessness, significant clinical interventions by a gritty doctor along with capable infrastructure support by the hospital.
Baby Mohor (name changed)was born at a local facility at just 25 weeks, a little more than half way to full term pregnancy by an emergency Caesarean Section The mother, Swati, had developed Pre Eclampsia, or Hypertension in pregnancy, a potentially dangerous situation for both the mother and the baby. Mohor was just 600 g at birth, one-fifth the weight of a normal full term baby with a medical condition called Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW). Any preterm baby is vulnerable and as feared, Mohor soon developed multiple complications immediately after birth. Mohor was whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Super Speciality Fortis Hospital at Anandapur Kolkata. The Ghosh couple petrified at the thought of losing their bundle of joy decided that they were going to fight till the end with hope and money as their only soldiers when all their relatives left them for their decision.
On arrival at Fortis, Mohor was diagnosed with severe respiratory distress which then veered into cardiac abnormalities, low blood sugar levels, acute kidney injury and cholestatic jaundice. The last nail in the straw was a life threatening sepsis. For the Ghoshs’ the possibility of losing Mohor was like a knife hanging over their heads.
It was then that Dr Sumita Saha, Neonatal Critical Care Specialist at Fortis Hospital Anandapur, took it up upon herself to join the fight along with the parents. She formulated her game plan. Her first priority was to resolve the respiratory distress along with the cardiac problems. She would then tackle and keep the jaundice under control with a short course of phototherapy, and simultaneous treat the septicaemia and kidney problems in the preemie with ultra-broad spectrum injectable antibiotics, pain killers, kidney treatment medications; prolong use of nutrition though the vein due to necrotising enterocollitis where food pipe of such babies damage and unable to tolerate food. It was a difficult concoction, but Dr. Saha decided to take on this challenge.
For 97 long days at Fortis, Dr Saha and her team’s- skill, unwavering commitment and dedication was not plain sailing. Hope however was a constant.
Mohor gradually was on a path to recovery, the infections resolved, her blood flow parameters improved and she gained weight to about thrice her birth weight. At the time of discharge, Mohor’s brain parameters were normal though she had some pre-term birth related eye problem which is expected to get better with time.
Miracle Mohor’s recovery is once again a story of stupendous human triumph against heavy odds and the wonder of medicine and its modern day manifestations. The battle that lasted for four months have left the parents exhausted.
Dr. Bichitrovanu Sarkar, Consultant Paediatric Intensivist, Fortis Hospital, Anandapur said, “While it takes true dedication and genuine expertise and knowledge to save a critically ill child, it is also important to support the family during this stressful period, with an understanding of their emotions and be accommodative of their reactions. We must remember, it is easy to be wise in retrospect, and whatever the initial treating doctor did, he did it according to his best judgement in that specific situation. Situations evolve and we do not know how things were like when he first saw this child. I think we need to do a lot more in bringing back these simple ethics into our medical practice today”.
Dr. Indrani Bhattacharya, Consultant Paediatric Neonatology, Fortis Hospital Anandapur said,” In the era of the babies ” born to soon” we should commit ourselves to help make the future generations mentally and physically healthy and strong .
