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Family of 9-yr old struggling to pay ` 3 lakh hospital bill

Class IV student is Goa’s first patient with Goodpasture Syndrome & 25th case in india

Aliya abreu | JUNE 25, 2018, 03:59 AM IST


PANAJI   

Nine-year-old Sanskruti Kamble, diagnosed with the extremely rare Goodpasture Syndrome and treated by doctors of the Healthway Hospital at Old Goa, cannot leave for her Tuem home because her family is unable to pay the hospital’s bill, even though her discharge papers were signed two days ago.   

Goodpasture Syndrome is a rare autoimmune disease and her’s is the first in Goa and only the 25th case reported in India. She is a Class IV student at Don Bosco, Tuem, and her father, Sudhakar Kamble used to work as a salesman at Shetye Sales Syndicate, an electronic goods showroom in Mapusa. He now no longer holds his job due to his long absence on account of attending to Sanskruti’s illness and treatment. Her mother is a housewife and she has two other siblings, an elder sister and a younger brother.   

“Sanskruti first took ill while answering her final exams in the academic year gone by,” said Sudhakar, adding that following her bouts of vomiting and fever they took her to the government health center in Pernem.   

Since then, Sanskruti’s family went pillar to post to try and diagnose her illness. Visits to a number of hospitals and several pathological tests later, the rare condition was diagnosed, thanks to a biopsy done at Manipal Hospital. She was then admitted to Healthway Hospital on the May 30 for treatment. Why Healthway hospital? Because treatment for Goodpasture Syndrome is unavailable at the Goa Medical College (GMC), her father Sudhakar disclosed.   

Due to her condition, antibodies were being generated damaging both her kidneys. The girl has undergone 10 sessions of plasmapheresis, where infected plasma has been removed, and fresh plasma infused to clear the antibodies from her system.   

Even though treatment is 



complete and Sanskruti no longer has to remain in hospital, she has been prescribed dialysis every third day which she will do at the District Hospital in Mapusa. At a later stage, she will require a kidney transplant at Goa Medical College, according to sources at Childline, who are assisting Sanskruti’s family.   

Sudhakar, meanwhile, said that though they tried using the Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY) card to pay the Healthway Hospital, it cleared off only Rs 40,250 due to the card’s limit. An additional Rs 46,000 was paid from the family’s own savings. But a total amount of Rs 3 lakh is needed to clear the hospital bill and the family still has a long way to go to cover the deficit.   

Goodpasture Syndrome (GPS) is a rare autoimmune disease, first discovered by Ernest Goodpasture, an American pathologist in 1919. The disease is thus named after him. It’s a condition where antibodies attack the basement membrane in the lungs and kidneys, leading to bleeding from the lungs and kidney failure.   

It is treated with drugs that suppress the immune system such as corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide, and with plasmapheresis, the antibodies are removed from the blood.   

A front-desk executive of Healthway Hospitals who took the call declined to comment on the case saying he was not authorised and asked that they be called on Monday.   

Childline, meanwhile, has begun raising funds to help Sanskruti’s family and has appealed to Goans to be generous. Donations can be made directly into the father’s bank account in Corporation Bank’s Dhargal Ozorim branch in A/C No 041300101008559 with IFSC code: CORP0000413   


SANSKRUTI’S STORY   

Took ill last year with bouts of vomiting and fever   

After visits to several hospitals and tests, rare condition -- Goodpasture Syndrome -- diagnosed   

Admitted to Healthway as treatment unavailable at GMC   

Has undergone 10 sessions of plasmapheresis   

Infected plasma removed and fresh plasma infused to clear antibodies   

Prescribed dialysis every third day which she will do at District Hospital, Mapusa

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