Birth of Ayan brought a lot of happiness for his parents as he was first baby in the family. However, all joys turned into grief when a vital bone in his left leg had to be removed.
Now Ayan has developed a permanent defect in his leg and his mother has been trying in vain to find a cure to her son’s ailment.
The plight of the newborn and his parents began when Ayan was admitted to the National Hospital, Jinnah Colony, after suffering from fits, a disease which might affect babies born after caesarean procedure.
Ayan’s mother Sumera, an interior designer by trade, told Dawn that problem began when the hospital staff administered a drip into the baby’s skin instead of a vein. Because of the wrong medical procedure, the leg developed pus.
She said, amid sobs, that when she asked Dr Mansoor about the cause of the abnormality, she was told that owing to a calcium dose the leg had developed some infection.
However, she said, on her insistence, Dr Mansoor referred the case to a `skin specialist’ (actually a general surgeon), who runs a clinic on Sattiana Road.
“Ayan remained under-treatment for one-and-half months at the clinic, where the surgeon conducted the first surgery on my son’s leg. But, the condition of baby’s leg worsened following the surgery,” Sumera said.
“I complained several times to the surgeon about something dirty oozing from Ayan’s leg, but he did not bother to tell me anything,” she said.
“I also requested for x-rays of Ayan’s leg so that any ambiguity about his ailment could be cleared, but the surgeon did not take it seriously,” she said.
“At last, in view of the deteriorating condition, Ayan’s calf bone had to be removed. And it all happened because of the negligence and apathy of the hospital staff, especially the surgeon and his friend Dr Mansoor,” she alleged.
She said that despite her repeated requests, the surgeon did not give her any document to establish that he had operated upon Ayan.
“I have been running from pillar to post for the last four months to find a cure to make my only son able-bodied. The negligence of hospital staff has rendered my son unable to enjoy life to the fullest,” an obviously perturbed mother said with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Sumera said that her father had a cardiac arrest when he came to know about the plight of Ayan and had to remain in hospital for many days.
She said: “Despite spending hundreds of thousands of rupees, I could not succeed in getting any relief for my son,” asking how the poor families would afford the financial cost of such miseries.
She appealed that the government should evolve a strategy to keep a check on the working of private hospitals’ doctors.
When contacted, Dr Mansoor dispelled the impression that Ayan’s amputation had been caused by the negligence of hospital staff. He said it was a routine problem of IV-Line in which “we administer the drip; it often gets leaked when children roll on the bed.”
Regarding a query pertaining to referring the boy to a surgeon, he said that he did this on the request of Ayan’s parents.