By Rupesh Dutta
New Delhi, July 15 (IANS): Fifty-one-year-old Kenyan Martha Susan Kabura, who was camping outside AIIMS for the past week as doctors denied her an appointment, was finally admitted to the hospital late Monday night.
After IANS highlighted her plight, the half-paralysed Kabura was admitted to the private ward of the neuro- science department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Doctors have assured her all medical help and she will now undergo surgery.
"I do not remember the exact time, but it was late, maybe around 10:30 p.m. I was asked to bring my sister to the private ward of the neuro-sciences department. When I reached there, my sister was shifted to ward number 3003," Kabura's sister Beth Njoroje told IANS in halting English.
"Doctors told me that my sister will have to undergo surgery in the next few days," Njoroje said.
Battling a mortal Neurofibroma (tumours in nervous system) disease for the last three years, Kabura, who has been accompanied by her sister Njoroje, were left dejected when they were unable to get an appointment with doctors, despite assurances.
The duo had come to the national capital July 9.
They came to India after Kenyan doctors got in touch with Sharat Chandra, professor in the neuro-science department and a neurosurgeon, who assured them of expert help.
When they failed to get an appointment, they made the concrete slab outside the hospital's Out Patient Department (OPD) their temporary abode.
This IANS correspondent found them sitting in the sweltering heat, waiting for a miracle that could change their lives.
A member of the medical team attending on Kabura, said: "Two units of blood will be transfused to her as is also suffering from acute anemia."
When asked why the Kenyan woman was denied an appointment, an official told IANS: "The concerned doctor was out of town and so the patient was asked to
wait.
"We regularly get many patients and its simply impossible to pay heed to everyone's request. It does not matter if the patient is a foreigner," the official, who refused to be identified, added.
"After all, every patient wants to get treated in AIIMS because of its subsidised treatment and advanced medical technology," the official said.
When this IANS reporter visited the private ward, Kabura was lying on a bed, while her sister was by her side.
"I hope my sister gets well soon. Had she not been admitted her condition would have deteriorated," Njoroje told IANS.
As their visa expires Aug 10, she hoped her sister's condition improves by that time.
Kabura was wrongly treated by Kenyan doctors, which resulted in the left side of her body being paralysed.
AIIMS, one of India's premier research and educational institutes, has around 2,200 beds and serves over 9,000 patients every day.