Sukesh M S, a second year Pre-University student may have got a new lease of life with the kidney transplantation he underwent two days ago. But, his hopes of living a normal life with a career as an engineer has become a distant dream.
As many as 186 candidates with physical disabilities were present at the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) on Monday to get medical certificates verified under the special category quota. Sukesh’s father, M Sriramappa- a vegetable vendor, was seen pleading about his son’s inability to attend the document verification process.
Sriramappa said, “My son has been on dialysis for the past one year and his right leg was amputated three years ago. Sukesh passed the II PU examination with 64 per cent and secured a CET engineering rank of 28,000. His mother’s kidney was given to him in a surgery that on Friday.”
“Sukesh is in the ICU at Manipal Hospital and will have to remain there for 13 days. After which, Sukesh cannot be in physical proximity with other individuals for three months. In this critical condition, it is not possible for him to attend the process,” Sriramappa said and added that the KEA officials said a letter will be given to the medical officer to examine the candidate to consider if he is eligible for entry through online options.
KEA executive director Chakravarthi Mohan said that he was aware of Sukesh’s case and that on humanity grounds, the KEA will instruct medical officers to visit him in the hospital. “Based on the report provided, he will be permitted to participate in the seat selection process which is the online options entry procedure.”
Manipal Hospital medical director Dr H Sudarshan Ballal, who performed the surgery on Sukesh, said: “He is responding well and will be discharged in 10 days. If need be, the patient who is an ‘immunocompromised host’, can be sent to the KEA premises for documents verification in an ambulance, along with a caretaker as the seat selection process is important for his career.”