HYDERABAD: As Covid-19 tears through families infecting the young and old, the nuclear families in Hyderabad are facing a challenge of having to leave their young children alone, in case the elders in the family are hospitalised. In one such heart-wrenching incident, a couple from Kolkata, working for an MNC in Hyderabad, had to be suddenly hospitalised after their oxygen levels dropped below 85 per cent. The direct outcome of this was that their 10-year-old son was left at the hospital reception without food and water.
“I was informed by my company’s HR about the situation. I got in touch with the patient who was nearly slurring in speech. Somehow, we used our best efforts and got the couple admitted in a hospital. However, we were all in a fix on where to send the child as his Covid test reports were yet to come in,” said Pradeep Gadicherla, IT professional and member of Feed the Needy team.
It is learnt that the boy accompanied the parents to the hospital. “They were in a complete nuclear family situation as they did not know any neighbours nor did they have any close colleagues as his team was recently changed to a new project,” Pradeep said.“We were very concerned and were discussing what could be done to protect the child,” he added.
It was Ramanjeer Singh and his wife Sandeep Kaur who volunteered to take care of the child. “I had tested positive a week ago, and was in isolation. But my wife took upon this task and immediately agreed to tend to the child. The boy was sent to our apartment where we had initially booked a guest room and placed him there,” said Ramanjeet.
“We got him home at 10 pm. For several hours he had no food. He was very distressed and my wife hugged him and tended to him. When his reports came negative later in the night, we shifted him to our own home,” he added.
The t child, however, was still struggling to process the calamity that struck his family. “Eventually, it was my 10-year-old daughter who broke the ice and now the two are giving each other company,” he said.The boy’s parents continue to be in the hospital. “We are working with the Cyberabad Security Council and CP of Cyberabad to see if we can take over a day-care facility and help these children out,” added Singh.