Power cuts may kill this woman, literally

Saraswathi Sawanth, resident of Banaswadi in Bangalore, is dependent on power for her survival. Most of us are as well, but in her case, a power shutdown could well kill her.

She suffers from a lung condition called interstitial lung disease (ILD).

It’s caused due to inflammation of the lung’s interstitium, which are tissues surrounding the tiny air sacks. The condition is a result of dust allergy, weak lungs and infections in the upper respiratory systems.

She is attached to an air-injecting machine, which is called a humidifier, that runs on power. She has depended on it for the past five years, 20 hours a day.

“The disease causes the lungs to contract, leading to the air sacks not being able to hold air,” said 55-year-old Saraswathi. “Air has to be induced into the lungs using the machine. This eases the process of breathing,” she said.

But there have been times when she felt she would die during power failures. “When power goes out for more than an hour, I feel as if I am going to die. I feel dizzy, and vomit. I cannot even bend or walk. With dry cough and suffocation, I almost blackout,” she said.

Her son, Rajiv Sawanth, a BPO employee, works night shifts and comes home in the mornings. At times, when the power goes off during the day, he has to manually pump the oxygen. But at nights, when he is not around, there is no one to help. Often the neighbours have to be called in.

“I even tried installing a UPS at home, but that needs power to charge the batteries. These things cost a lot. How can we afford all this luxury?” she said.