The corona pandemic, which had been raging violently was past its peak and India had started the process of a gradual unlock. Colleges were still shut but small businesses were opening wearily. With their college still shut both Seema and Asha had taken to learning computers, which they realized, would help them in the future. Both bright students then enrolled for computer classes. As their residential colony was on the outskrits of the town of Chandrapur both girls had to cycle around 10 kms to and fro on the highway, which was nothing new to them. 

On the fateful day after the classes ended at 12:00 noon Seema and Asha as usual began their journey back to their homes. Mid way on the highway there was a cotton market, which was kept open by the government. So that specific area of the highway was usually busier than other areas. Hitting the busy area, Seema and Asha who were riding their bicycles side by side went into a single file as Asha moved ahead. They could sense some commotion ahead as there was an unusually large crowd gathered  around a stationary truck.

“Is it an accident, is somebody injured, hope everything is all right”, Seema’s train of thought went…when suddenly was a massive thud.  Something gigantic had rammed her bicycle from  behind. The impact was so severe that she was thrown violently on to the ground several feet away. The left strap of her school bag broke and that pushed the whole bag on to the right hand. Fallen on the ground when she turned around, to her horror, she saw a huge truck tyre right behind her and slowly crushing her fingers of her right hand. Just before it could crush her, the truck stopped, inches away from her body. 

“Had the truck moved any further I would have been dead. And it was God’s Grace that my school bag landed on my right hand, that protected my right elbow and rest of my hand otherwise I would have been without my right hand now,” Seema said. 

A massive truck had lost control and rammed into Seema’s bicycle. Seema just came inches from a certain death.

Passersby and the cotton farmers who were visiting the market rescued Seema from under the truck.  Profusely bleeding from the hand they wrapped her hand in a clean cloth and one autorikshaw man who was known to Seema’s family put her in the auto and took off for her home.    

However, there was a lot of conflicting information emanating from the site of the accident. The main reason for that was that the truck, which lay ahead and around which Seema had seen people gathered, had in fact crushed a person to death. And somebody from the site of the accident called the residential colony where Seema stayed and told her neighbours that she was dead. While Seema’s father received this news with shock, her mother, a teacher, was away in her small school which had opened recently. Her principal called her and without informing her anything about what he had been told, directed her to go back home as some important guests had suddenly arrived. Seema’s mother knew something was wrong, but could not put her finger on it. There was grief, commotion and tears everywhere in Seema’s residential colony, but finally when Seema herself reached home in the auto rickshaw all heaved a big sigh of relief.

Seema’s father Pramod was a farmer and her mother  Pramila was teacher and a homemaker. Seema had a younger brother Jeevan. With the annual income of Rs. 70,000 from farming complemented by Seema’s mother’s salary, the family was one of the multitude of Indian lower middle class families, which have enough to go by, but who check their pockets with concern each time some unforeseen expenses occur.

 Seema’s parents took her to the nearest government hospital, it was here that the complete extent of the her injury came to light. The truck had crushed her right palm and had torn off the skin from her hand exposing the tissue below. Had her school bag not been there, the hand would have been crushed also. Her right index finger and thumb were badly injured especially the thumb. After the dressing the wound the doctors in the government hostpital told Seema’s parents to take her to a hospital with a Plastic Surgery department.

“First we went to a private hospital in the nearest big city. We paid a sum of Rs. 1.5 lakh and Seema stayed in the hospital for a period of 1 and half months. After the surgery we realized that the surgeon had made a real mess of her hand. Now her thumb and fore fingers were attached to one another. We felt that it was worse than what it had been earlier,” Seema’s mother Pramila said.

When the family questioned, the surgeons after examining the hand told them that they would perform a second surgery and now the cost would be Rs. 11 lakhs. Flabbergasted the Seema’s family got her discharged and left the hospital. “Later we came to know from other patients many of them had had a similar experience,” Pramila said.

It was during this time that Seema’s father Pramod had been searching the internet for some good hospital where Plastic Surgery was being performed. It was then that he came across the Plastic Surgery Department at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Puttaparthi. He felt that he had heard about this hospital somewhere, but could not remember where.

After their disappointment with the private hospital, Seema’s family, tried some other hospitals also but treatment could not materialize. Finally the family returned to Chandrapur. In the meantime her father remembered a local doctor who had spoken to him about Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and a hospital He had established. Pramod went to the doctor and got all the information he required. To his surprise he came to know that the hospital established by Bhagawan Baba had a Plastic Surgery Department and also treated patients completely free of charge.

The family after taking details from the known doctor made their way to the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Puttaparthi.

During that period Swami’s hospital was simultaneously running a Corona Care centre on the campus so only limited cases were being taken up for surgery. Looking at Seema’s condition, she was taken up for surgery immediately, after the mandatory procedures and corona tests.

“Looking at the hospital we were doubtful whether such a big and beautifully built hospital would really treat patients completely free of charge. But after we entered the Plastic Surgery department and started interacting with the staff here all our doubts melted away. Not only was it totally free of charge but there is a pervading feeling of everything being real, true and honest,” Pramila added.

“We met Dr. Gurumurthy and he told in clear terms what he was going to do and what will happen after that, how the recovery will happen. Nothing was left unsaid or hidden. This was a total surprise for us. No where were we given such clarity about treatment,” she added.

“When I was in other hospital I was always worried my well being, whether I would become all right or not, whether I would be able to lead a normal life or not. But after speaking to Surgeon Sir the confidence came back to me that I would become better, that I would again lead a normal life,” Seema said.

According to Dr. Gurumurthy at the time of admission Seema has a scar around the thumb and the thumb adducted. The index finger and the thumb were joined to each other, there was no thumb web space. As a result Seema could not do any work with the right hand. Hence under anaesthesia the thumb was released from the abnormal attachment and exposed bone debrided and groin flap was given.  Once the graft settled groin flap final inset was given and dressed. Now the patient can hold anything with the right hand and use it for any work.

After an uneventful recovery, Seema was discharged. “Such a nice place this hospital is. We felt like staying some more time in the hospital,” Pramila said.

“Swami’s hospital has changed our perspective about medicine. Now we know this is how it should be done. Outside it is only about money, but here it is all about care to the patient. Every time surgeons or the nurses pass by us, even if they are busy, they take some time out and come to us talk to us and make us feel better. They don’t do it mechanically or as if it is their duty, rather like how one would speak to a family member or a friend. It makes us feel so happy and important. Staying here we feel a part of this big family” Seema added. 

Seema is now going back home and she has one wish to make, “ I pray to Swami that he should make all the people in the world healthy and happy.”

Jai Sai Ram