The little girl was abandoned by her older sister four months ago, at the hospital their mother has been admitted to for treatment of TB.
Four-year-old Kajal Rathod's life has been a roller coaster so far, and could take a few more nasty turns. The little girl was abandoned by her older sister four months ago, at the hospital their mother has been admitted to for treatment of TB.
The security guard at Sewri's TB Hospital, noticed that the child was burning up with fever and took her to Dr Amar Pawar, the Chief Medical Office of the hospital. She was diagnosed with severe malaria and was admitted into Parel's KEM hospital on July 30 and discharged on Saturday.
Dr Pawar and his colleagues started asking about Kajal's relatives, and found that her mother, Gauri, has been undergoing treatment in the Sewri hospital for the past four months.
Though Kajal is free of malaria, she has now been diagnosed with stomach TB and is living with Dr Pawar.
"I was shifted to the hospital from Rajawadi to Sewri for TB treatment," says Gauri, who has three daughters, of which Kajal is the youngest. "I did not know what disease I suffered from and one of my daughters admitted me here, and never came back."
The Saki Naka resident belongs to the Banjara community, and is a daily-wage labourer. She makes around Rs 400 a day. She thinks one of the daughters then abandoned Kajal at the hospital gate.
The doctors treating Kajal think she fell prey to TB due to malnutrition, brought on by living on the streets for four months with no one to care for her.
Dr Amar Pawar, said, "When we found out about her mother, I took responsibility for Kajal and took her home," says Dr Pawar. "We admitted her to KEM Hospital for fever treatment and she has now fully recovered from malaria. Now, I have taken the responsibility to give her a nutritious diet and free her of TB."
Gauri, meanwhile, hopes she recovers from TB to see her child grow healthy and have a bright future. She is reluctant to send Kajal to an NGO or hand her over to the police, in case she is incapable of taking care of her, and has faith that Dr Pawar will take care of her.
Dr Pawar, who is clearly attached to Kajal, is as puzzled about her future.
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 "Kajal Rathod-Dr Kajal Rathod")
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