A father’s Herculean effort
A rickshaw puller drove his vehicle at least 110km to take his ailing daughter to Rangpur from Thakurgaon for treatment, as ambulance drivers were charging high during this countrywide lockdown.
It took him nearly nine hours to reach the destination, Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH).
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Talking to The Daily Star over phone yesterday afternoon, Md Tarek Islam said that his seven-month old daughter Jannat was admitted to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital on April 13 with blood dysentery.
The hospital authorities referred her to RMCH, as her condition was not deteriorating, a day after her admission there. The father tried his best to arrange an ambulance to take his daughter to RMCH for the next couple of days.
Ambulance drivers were charging Tk 3,500 to 4,000 for a one-way trip, which Tarek could not afford.
As inter-district bus services remained suspended for the lockdown, the father and his family members decided to start the journey on his rickshaw on Saturday.
"He started his journey on his battery-run rickshaw from his home at around 7am on Saturday. When his vehicle arrived at Taraganj Upazila of Rangpur, it went out of order.
Later, an easy-bike driver helped him go more than 10km. "But, it seemed to us that the road was never-ending," said Tarek. Later, he pedaled his vehicle until he arrived at RMCH.
His wife and mother-in-law were on the rickshaw. The little girl's conditioned worsened on the way, he said.
They finally admitted the child at the hospital after 4pm, said Tarek.
"If I were rented an ambulance, all the money would be spent just on transport, and we would have no money to treat my child," he said.
The father spent Tk 500 for the treatment at Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital.
Tarek said his daughter was feeling better on Sunday, a day after her admission at RMCH.
Jannat is now undergoing treatment at the RMCH's pediatric ward.
Tarek has been pulling rickshaw for the last 12 years, said his wife Sultana Begum.
Tarek urged affluent people to come forward to help him to bear his daughter's treatment cost.
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