Jumla, 13 Nov: Forty-year-old Darshana Damai, a resident of Chandannath Municipality–8, Taliun, has been living on a hospital bed at the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences for nearly a year.
About a year ago, she fell from the stairs at her home, causing a spinal fracture. Since the accident, her 11-year-old son Bikash Damai has been staying at the hospital, taking care of his sick mother. Because he has to look after her, Bikash has also been forced to leave school.
Darshana’s husband has already passed away. With her treatment ongoing for a year, Bikash has made the hospital his home as well. He stays beside his mother’s pillow, waiting for the day she recovers.
Bikash says, “My father died, my mother’s spine is broken, and there’s no one to feed me. How can I go to school? That’s why I stay here in the hospital to take care of my mother.”
He used to study at a school in Jatibhid, but had to quit his studies after his mother was bedridden in the hospital. Darshana shared that she cannot even think about studying or working — she relies on her son even for food and shelter, as he lives close to her hospital bed and eats hospital meals. She said, “My husband died because of my worries. Now my son is in this condition. I wish someone could help my son.”
Darshana, who also worked at the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences, is now paralyzed from the waist down. She cannot eat, move, or go to the toilet on her own. Earlier, her husband cared for her, but since his death, her younger brother has been helping her. However, she said her brother is struggling to manage between looking after her and supporting her son.
The Karnali Academy is providing her treatment free of charge.
Darshana has appealed to kind-hearted people to support her son’s care and education, as he had to quit school due to her illness and their poor condition. Locals confirmed that Bikash had to give up his education because of his mother’s long illness and their difficult circumstances.
