Boy who came in as 4 yr old patient & got ‘adopted’ by doctors and staff
Arjun was brought to the Bahraich district hospital in Uttar Pradesh when he was 4 years old. That was in 2008. Now, the boy is 13 years old. However, he’s still in the hospital campus, earning him the moniker ‘the son of the hospital’!
It’s said that Arjun shares a special relationship with the hospital and the staff.
Found in a flood
Arjun was found all alone in a flooded area some nine years back. He was found crying near a nullah by the administrative officials on a patrol. The boy was then admitted to the hospital by Sudhir Kumar, the then district magistrate. Arjun underwent the operation for stone ureter. However, even after recovery, the boy stayed on.
“The little boy had no place to go. We decided to keep him until something was done for his safety and future,” said M Bhalla, the hospital’s matron.Bhalla has witnessed Arjun growing up in the hospital campus.
Officials did manage to trace his ancestral house. But Arjun wasn’t willing to go there. “I don’t remember anything about my family, so I don’t want to go anywhere,” he said.
Arjun’s routine is inextricably linked with the functioning of the hospital. Waking up before the OPD begins, he goes to sleep late in the night. Though the hospital staff enrolled him in a primary school, he ceased going there after just a few weeks.
All the staff members of the hospital- from sweepers to paramedical staff to doctors are in consensus that Arjun is indeed the hospital’s child. The boy grew up in the hospital, playing, witnessing the routine of the healthcare system. Though his education is limited, for Arjun his family- the hospital staff matters a lot. His expenses are also borne by the staff.
Not an orphan
“All on the hospital campus are my friends. This place is my home,” says Arjun.
Arjun doesn’t participate in any of the official works on the campus. But interacting with the staff members is common enough for him. Particularly true with the drivers of the 108 ambulance service who frequently bring in patients.
Sudhir Kumar has found Arjun’s village to be Masih. He has ordered for the boy’s name to be enrolled in the property in the village, so that when he grows up, he gets some share in it. “He is not an orphan. In his family, we found his sister and brother-in-law,” Kumar told the newspaper, Hindustan Times.
Image credits: hindustantimes.com