Cerebral palsy patients operated upon; parents hopeful

LUDHIANA: Three patients suffering from cerebral palsy were operated upon under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) on Tuesday at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, here.
The doctors announced all the three surgeries successful and are hopeful that with their parents��� support and efforts, children would be able to walk.
While sitting in the hospital, parents of Lovish, a six-year-old boy who could not walk or even sit, are seeing some hope.
Rahul, a class II student, Aakash, a seven-year-old boy, and Lovish -- all of them are bed-ridden and need support for routine chores. But now, SSA has given their parents some hope. About it, Ashu Arora, Lovish���s father who owns a chemist shop, said, ���He is my only child and since his birth, he never walked. Later, we came to know that he has a neuro problem. I took him to PGI and even Delhi, but to no avail. Now, doctors��� assurance makes us believe that he will be fine.���
For Avinash, Aakash���s father, it is like a dream come true. He said, ���He is my first child and after his birth, I took him to all city hospitals for treatment, but in vain. Then somebody from SSA approached me to get him admitted to a government school and when they came to know about his ailment, they told us about the free treatment. Now, it seems that he will be able to run soon.��� He added, ���There were funds in the department, but nobody thought of utilizing them. We are thankful to Krishan Kumar, director general, school education, who initiated this.���
Waiting outside the operation theatre with prayers on their lips, Rahul���s parents were ecstatic when the doctor operating upon the child came out and announced that the operation was successful. About the condition of children, Dr RS Sodhi, who operated upon them, said, ���There were multiple deformities and we have corrected them through operation. But after surgeries, they will have to go for physiotherapy and we are hopeful that next time when they come here, they will be standing on their own.���
He added, ���Surgeries are not magic. It will take some time and moreover, if these children are able to sit, we will consider it an achievement.��� About the problem, he said, ���Most of the people are not aware about cerebral palsy. There are four children against 1,000 suffering from this problem. It is important to accept it and provide the child right treatment.���