Six patients who had complicated gastrointestinal and liver diseases discussed their journeys to recovery on the sixth foundation day of the Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences (IILDS) in Sonarpur on Sunday.
The hospital, which has no owner and is run on donations from institutions and individuals, had invited the six people to narrate their stories so that others realise that even very diseases can be overcome.
IILDS charges patients a price that helps it recover the treatment cost and keep a surplus of 10 per cent for growth, said Abhijit Chowdhury, a member of the board of governance of the hospital and a gastroenterologist.
Among those present was Suvra Prakash Dey, an engineer, who suddenly encountered unbearable pain in his abdomen in August 2020. A hospital in Howrah suspected pancreatitis. When Dey arrived at IILDS in September, doctors diagnosed a tumour in his bile duct.
“He underwent treatment in three phases. Finally he underwent a 10-hour surgery in October 2020. A portion of his liver was removed,” said Parmita Dey, Suvra’s wife.
Chowdhury said the liver could fully regenerate after a part of it was cut off. This was the foundational principle for the surgery that sees a small portion of a person’s liver transplanted in another person, he said.
Suvra rejoined his office in December 2020. On Sunday, he drove back home in his car from the hospital.
The story of Sujata Aich, 69, was narrated by husband Prabir. She failed to make it to the event because of bad weather.
Sujata was diagnosed with cirrhosis of liver in 2006. From 2014, her condition worsened as fluid accumulated in her abdomen, said Prabir.
Initially, she had to visit hospital every three months to remove the fluid. Later, the gap was reduced to 10 days.
Sujata underwent a complicated surgery called TIPS at IILDS. Doctors had said the surgery would elongate the gap between two hospital visits.
“She has spent several months with her daughter who lives in the US and visited multiple tourist sites there. She is now living a normal life,” said Prabir.
Run for wheelchair-bound individuals
Twenty-one wheelchair-bound people participated in a run in the Maidan area on Sunday morning. The event was organised by the Institute of Neurosciences, Kolkata.
There were 90 others who ran the 5-km stretch. The run started and ended in front of the Victoria Memorial, said a spokesperson for the hospital. Nine of the 21 participants on wheelchairs were from Bengal and the rest from Odisha. Reporting