Crowdfunding helps family foot hefty medical bill

A woman and her infant daughter from the city were able to get treatment for multiple health complications, thanks to crowdfunding, Radhika (name changed) and her daughter today lead a healthy life, thanks to generous contributions.  Radhika and her family were unable to foot a medical bill of Rs 13 lakh with the earnings of her husband who is a smalltime cloth merchant in Malleswaram.

‘Milaap’
It was through the online portal, Milaap, that the family managed to raise close to Rs 6 lakh. Not having forseen the emergency, initially the family had to run from pillar to post for help. Radhika’s pregnancy was a matter of joy to the family as she had conceived at 46. All was fine with her pregnancy till the 20th week. However, a scan showed that the blood supply to the foetus had reduced. On examination, doctors found that Radhika had developed pregnancy-induced hypertension. She also had a clot in the brain.

Complications
Speaking to DH about the case, Dr Shripada Vinekar, gynecologist and obstetrician, Cloud Nine Hospitals, Malleswaram, said: “As the woman had hypertension, the child was bound to have complications. At 28 weeks, we felt that the baby might not pull through if it is not delivered immediately.”

A C-Section was performed and a premature baby was delivered. Radhika was shifted to Apollo Hospitals for surgery. Following this, the child had to be kept in intensive care for several weeks which pushed up the hospital bills.

Rohit M A, co-founder, Cloud Nine Hospitals, said that the hospital assisted the couple in reaching out to people through social media besides offering them a concession on treatment charges.