HYDERABAD: In a heart-wrenching case of a family contracting Covid-19, a 20-year old B Tech student — the youngest member of the family — lost his father and mother as well as a cousin to the deadly virus in a span of one week.
Even while grappling with the shock of losing his entire family, Radhesh Reddy, himself a Covid patient, had to clear Rs 17 lakh dues for Covid treatment at Deccan Hospital in Somajiguda.
Breaking down while speaking to Express, Radhesh Reddy narrated his traumatic experience of having to beg and borrow Rs 2 lakh to have his father’s body released by the private hospital for performing the last rites. He has also alleged that negligence on the part of the hospital led to his father’s death. The administration of Deccan Hospital was unavailable for a comment.
“I am the only child. My entire family was affected by Covid-19, including my mother, father, myself, and my cousin. My mother passed away earlier this week and we paid Rs 8 lakh to get my mother’s body released,” Radhesh said.
“While I was completing the final rites of my mother on Monday, I got a call from my father who was in the ICU. He told me that he couldn’t make it to the washroom and had relieved himself in his diapers. He asked me to get someone in the hospital to help him clean up. Four hours and multiple calls later, no one in the hospital helped him to clean up,” he said.
“It was only when I offered to come to the ICU to clean him up did the management send someone. After that, my father started complaining of breathing problem,” he said.
“During this period too, the doctor wasn’t available. An hour later, when the doctor checked on him, my father’s oxygen saturation was as low as 89. The doctors said he would have to put him on a ventilator. Half an hour later I got a call, saying my father has been put on a ventilator, but is not responding. They said they tried everything but couldn’t save him. They refused to release the body until I paid Rs 2 lakh. I arrange the money somehow,” he said.