Braveheart 💖

Visit to Solapur 🚇

Our father’ side of family lived in Solapur while we were growing up, and we lived in Dhule with our mother’s parents (Nana-Nani).

Our father’s mother (Dadi) got very sick with TB in January 2004.
My parents went to Solapur, to meet her and Prerna went along as well. Prerna was only about 2 years old at the time and Dadi also wanted to meet her.

This was peak winter in both towns Dhule and Solapur (around Makar Sankranti). My parents also took a detour to Nandgaon on the way back, where my Nani’s family and some other relatives live.

Prerna got very sick after all this train travel.
It started as fever. We must have started with some home remedies and medicines for common cold.
But they were not working and in a couple of days Prerna started refusing to eat anything.

I don’t remember all of it but I remember a visual of her sitting on our mother’s lap, in a maroon frock that was also a sweater that she often wore. She was feeling repelled at the thought of eating anything that we were suggesting, even her favorite things. And then she would ask in Marwari – “fir mhe kai khao?” (then what else should I eat?)
She understood that she needed to eat, but she had no appetite and nothing sounded tempting to her.

27-01-2004

This was a very rough day for Prerna.

She was first consulted with Dr. Maqsood Ansari and was not getting better with the initial medication. The doctor ordered an X-ray.

By this time Prerna had high fever, nausea, chest pain and abdominal pain.
Meanwhile, our father (Papa) reached out to his friend Dr. V G Sadane, who is an Ayurvedic doctor. He asked us to get some more tests done – a Haemogram and a Typhoid test from Biyani Diagnostic and Cathlab Center.

Prerna’s Typhoid test was negative. But her X-ray showed pleural effusion with partial collapse of left lung.
Dr. V G Sadane advised my parents to admit Prerna immediately to Mira Hospital with the pediatric specialist Dr. Rajesh Agrawal.

Prerna was further sent to Dr. Anjali Chitale at Maoli Hospital to get an ICD to drain out the pleural fluid on the same day. It was an emergency.
Dr. Rajesh Agrawal also ordered another round of tests from Nidan Clinics – another Haemogram (blood test), test on pleural fluid and test for TB.

The next 48 hours were critical for Prerna.

Braveheart 💖

I was about 12 years old when this happened. All of us kids stayed back home until Prerna was out of danger.
It was very tense, every time someone came back home from hospital my heart would sink. I believed she was going to be ok but I knew she was in pain.

Prerna hates needles. And I think this day is where it comes from.
The 2 year old kid had her blood work done twice on the same day, was sent to 3 doctors, 3 pathology labs and 1 operation theatre. She had 2 X-rays done, an IV inserted on her right hand and a big needle poking her left lung to drain out the pleural fluid.

When they took Prerna into the operation theatre for inserting ICD, she fought the whole time.
Dr. Anjali said she had not seen a patient like Prerna.
After they inserted the tube, Prerna ran out of the operation theatre by herself with a nurse running behind her carrying the fluid pouch.

Prerna tested negative for TB. She had a bacterial infection in her lung that caused the pleural effusion.
She had to sleep on the right side for the next 8 days due to the ICD on the left side. It was very sensitive and she would warn everybody who entered the room to be extremely careful not to accidentally move the pipe, it would cause her a lot of pain. She developed injuries from sleeping on the same side. Our mother (Aai) held her through it all, never left her side.

The ICD tube was removed after 8 days and Prerna came back home after 10-11 days of hospitalization and she recovered really well. Very strong girl!
Dr. Rajesh Agrawal remained her go to doctor for the next 10 years. He saved Prerna from a very critical condition.

My father works as a counter salesman at Katariya Departments in Dhule since 1989. The shop owner (we call him seth (boss)) has always been very supportive towards our family, especially in crisis.
He was with my parents in the hospital throughout Prerna’s surgery and he also loaned us the money required for the procedure right away.

Photo 📷

Prerna had many X-rays done during this period (January – March) to make sure her lungs were okay and the infection was fully cured. The last one was in mid-March. The local staff would often refer to them as “photo” to her in Marathi.
So Prerna began to think this is what taking a photo means.

During Dasera that same year, us kids decided to go to the photo studio as usual to take a picture.
When we asked Prerna if she was ready to go take a picture, she initially said no, it was strange.
Then she showed us what she thought taking a photo means. The 2 year old kid held an imaginary square in front of her and then pulled it towards her chest and made a sound. Like they do in X-rays.

I remember that moment, it broke my heart to see her do that. I was so upset that I didn’t go to for the picture.
I will always regret it, I should have gone and held her. Maybe I could have made her smile for this picture.
The photographer didn’t do a good job, there were no previews or retakes back then.

Yashashri, Harshali, Prerna and Dhananjay

Guddu beta, I am sorry, I am an idiot. I should have come with you.

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