Gumla: Two experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi on Monday visited the house of a critical epilepsy patient, Mukti Kumari (32), at Telgaon village. She has been bedridden, and suffering from cluster episodes of convulsions for two days. The two doctors, Hemant Tiwari and Mayank Sharma, from AIIMS, who were here on the occasion of International Epilepsy Day programme examined around 50 patients during a special camp at the District Mental Health Centre (DMHC), Gumla, counselled them, and offered free medicined.
Around 3,000 persons are registered as epilepsy patients in Gumla district, while about 50% of them are under treatment. “My daughter Sarita Kumari (22) had no fits for 1 year, barring a recent one, as she is getting regular free medicines from the DMHC,” said Parasnath Oraon of Dumardih village. “Raja Gupta, a fastfood seller at the remote Bishunpur block, improved after taking anti-seizure drugs,” said his maternal uncle.“We treated 1,005 epilepsy patients through various camps in Gumla since 2024. Following up remains a top priority for the treated patients, so that they do not discontinue medicines and we can again reinforce the dos and don’ts of treatment,” said Dr Sharma.Dr Tiwari said that when they last visited nearly a year ago, almost 90% of patients were either not on any treatment or were taking medicines from quacks. “With consistent follow-up and sustained efforts, the situation improved significantly. We are now witnessing better seizure control in many patients, and those with drug-resistant epilepsy were referred to AIIMS New Delhi for detailed evaluation,” said Tiwari.
