Suja* has been in a wheelchair, due to paraplegia, since she was 14 years old. Pregnant with her first baby, she went into labour during lockdown. She came from a Covid hotspot, and so she was turned away from a nursing home. She approached a large hospital in Chennai, but they also wouldn’t admit her.
Anxious, and with nowhere else to go, the family set off for Vellore. After 150km, through multiple checkpoints, she finally found a welcome at CMC.
To everyone’s delight, Suja delivered a beautiful healthy boy here on 23 April, 2020
CMC has been treating people with spinal cord injury for many years. Our own graduate Dr Mary Verghese became paraplegic and started our Rehab institute. But, over the last thirty years, doctors at CMC have delivered only three or four babies to women with a level of spinal cord injury as high as Suja’s. She was the first person with paraplegia to deliver here after Covid-19 struck.
Suja was soon discharged and returned home to Chennai with her devoted husband, mother, and her bundle of joy.
Friends, your support is helping CMC’s teams respond to the Corona virus crisis. Across the miles, reach out a helping hand to our sick and vulnerable patients.
Stay safe and healthy, and above all pray.
Thank you for your support!
Hugh Skeil
Development Office, CMC Vellore
Ps. Make a donation towards our Covid-19 response today:
*Name changed, picture used with permission
