Bengal grandmother makes 130 km bicycle trip for grandson’s treatment

Where there is a will, there is way. The saying got an entirely new meaning for a 50-year-old grandmother from West Bengal’s Jhargram district. She has cycled 130 km in total to and from her village in the remote Belpahari area of the district with her five-year-old grandson, a thalassemia patient, riding pillion to the district hospital, for his blood transfusion.

A resident Suridiha village of Jhargram, Malati Tudu’s grandson was diagnosed with thalassemia when he was five months old. Since then he needs A+ve blood every month to survive.

Tudu said that last time on March 30 she did not face any difficulty in taking her grandson to the district hospital for blood transfusion since the government ambulance at the local health centre was available.

“Despite the lockdown then I did not face any problems when taking my grandson to the district hospital as the ambulance was available free of cost,” said Tudu.

But this month when she went to the health centre to ask for the ambulance Tudu was in for a shock. The ambulance was not available due to mechanical problems and there was no other way to take her grandson to the hospital during the lockdown.

Not to be disheartened the resilient grandmother decided to take matters into her own hands and set off for the district hospital on a bicycle with her grandson riding pillion. Tudu on May 3 brought her grandson from her daughter’s house on the bicycle to her home.

Then after resting for the night, she set off with her grandson on a 65 km long ride for the district hospital. After reaching there late evening on the same day she admitted her grandson at the hospital.

But her challenges were not over yet. “ Blood bank authorities told me that blood transfusion will not be possible without a donor,” said Tudu. Finally with the intervention of the local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership donor was found and her grandson received a blood transfusion.

Relieved Tudu once again rode 65 km with her grandson to back to her village.