SAMBALPUR: The joy of recovering from paralysis after a year in hospital has turned into despair for a 58-year-old woman after she came to know that her family has abandoned her.
Puspanjali Bag was brought to VIMSAR around 20 months back after she suffered a brain stroke which left the right side of her body paralysed.
When Bag was brought to the hospital, she was unconscious and admitted to the female medicine ward. Though Bag started recovering a month back, she was provided treatment for bed sores that she acquired during the stay in the hospital. Recently, she started walking and is also able to speak clearly.
However, she came to know that during the period of her illness, all her family members have abandoned her and her husband has married someone else. With no place to go, she is now refusing to leave the hospital.
A crest-fallen Puspanjali said, “I have nowhere to go if I leave the hospital. Moreover, all the attendants and doctors here are taking good care of me. I feel like being with my family here so I don’t want to leave.”
But the hospital authorities have no clue about the whereabouts of her family. Bag claims she hails from Kantapali but is unable to describe the exact location as there are two places of the same name, one near Burla and the other in Bargarh.
The hospital authorities enquired about her at Kantapali near Burla but nobody could identify Bag. They now suspect that the woman might be native of Kantapali in Bargarh.
Senior resident doctor in Medicine department Shankar Ramchandani said, “We called the phone number which was given by her husband during her admission. However, he refused to take Bag back and hung up.”
As the woman has recovered, she would have to be discharged soon. “We have been taking care of her and providing whatever she is asking for. But we need to rehabilitate her soon. We have informed the authorities about the situation and discussions are on to find a suitable place for her rehabilitation,” Ramchandani added.