A wonderful experience by Doctor

This is a real life story of a little angel, Kumari Chansu Pangtha, now eight years old. She lives in a very remote village near Kharsang town.

The name of her village is Namchik Hawi inhabited by a very small sub-tribe of Tangsa i.e. Hawi. The villagers are very poor and less educated. I saw her for the first time in November 2020, when I attended Rangfraa Day celebration in their village. I saw a little girl walking, rather limping, with the help of a stick. I thought that she was playing with her friends like this. After the program was over, I asked someone about her and he told me that few months ago she injured herself by falling from her Chang Ghar. After that incident, she can’t walk properly. I enquired if she got any medical treatment and was answered negatively. I immediately called her mother and examined the child. I found some swelling near her right hip joint and she felt pain when I pressed that area. I told her mother to take her to the nearby hospital for a hip joint x-ray and inform me afterwards. I requested our well wishers to do the follow up and keep in touch with me. After a few days, they send me the x-ray report. I discussed the case with some of my Orthopedic friends and they told me that without clinical examination it is difficult to diagnose. By that time the second wave of Corona started and it became really difficult to bring her out for diagnosis and treatment. So, I contacted Dr. Sunil Godbole, one renowned orthopedic surgeon from Nashik and shared her x-ray reports. He told me to share some of her videos so that he could get some idea. I went to her village and took some videos and shared with Dr. Godbole Sir. He told me that it is not a fracture or dislocation case and thorough investigation is needed to find out the cause. The nearest higher centre is Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh but due to Corona, they didn’t want to come. We tried to convince them but suddenly her father died of TB. During that period Missionaries of Charity people came to their village for medical camp and they also noticed her. They wanted to provide her medical help but the villagers told that as Vivekananda Kendra Medical Team is looking after the case, they should contact us. Felix Anthony, the Father of the Miao church contacted me and had expressed his wish to bring her to Dibrugarh. He requested that we should take initiative to admit her in Hospital as the family and the villagers are close and comfortable with us. I contacted Dr. Hemanta Kumar Dutta, HOD of Pediatric Surgery Department and Dr. Kinkar Mahanta, Associate Professor, of Pediatric Surgery Department and fixed an appointment. The child was shifted to Dibruagarh in an ambulance and she was admitted. After thorough investigation, she was diagnosed with bone TB. The treatment started immediately and she started responding. Two of our Karyakartas, Sri Songe Pangtha and Sri W.Mandok stayed with her for one month. We were in touch with them for the entire period and ensured that there shouldn’t be any problem. Some of my local contacts of Dibrugarh Medical College helped a lot during that period. After one month, she was discharged but she had to continue her treatment for eight more months. We provided her nutritional supplements during her treatment period. I was in a regular contact with them to know her progress and met her a few occasions when I visited her village. She was recovering fast. 

I was so glad to meet her yesterday i.e. 23rd June 2023 when I was in her village for a medical camp. Now she can walk without any support. She is growing and glowing, playing with her friends and going to primary school regularly. May God bless her.

Dr. Debashis Dey Adhikary

SSM Pramukh

VK Arun Jyoti, Arunachal Pradesh