Bengaluru: In a city often defined by traffic and technology, something extraordinary unfolded on the streets: A few good Samaritans, which no prior connection, got together and gave a new lease of life to a Syrian woman with heart ailments and her family, who were found begging on the road because they’d exhausted their savings.On Thursday, doctors at state-run Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research (popular as Jayadeva Hospital) said the coronory artery bypass graft surgery on the woman, Fedda Fares, was successful and the 65-year-old is fit to return home. The woman was visibly elated over the way Bengalureans came together to save her life.
Fedda, along with her husband, daughter and grandson, arrived in India three months ago seeking medical advice. After failing to get help in Hyderabad, the family came to Bengaluru. By then they had spent all their savings — over Rs 1 lakh — in hospital visits and lab tests. They rented a house near Kammanahalli in east Bengaluru for Rs 20,000 per month, which emptied their pockets. “Running out of money and facing language barriers, the family had no option than to beg. A passer-by who spot them in front of a mosque in Bommanahalli connected them to one of our volunteers on Dec 14 last year. After speaking with them, we understood what their problem was,” said Tauseef Ahmed, director of Active Bengaluru Foundation, a city-based NGO. “While raising funds for their treatment, the volunteers took the patient to a general hospital and then to Charaka Hospital in Shivajinagar and spent Rs 9,000. When her chest pain increased, doctors said she needed a bypass surgery and was shifted to Jayadeva institute,” said Dr Dinesh B, director, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research (SJICSR).“The volunteers fetched her passport from Fraser Town as it was needed for admission. A detailed medical evaluation revealed that Fedda had severe coronary artery disease, requiring coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. In addition, a significant cardiac rhythm abnormality was detected, necessitating the need for a pacemaker,” he added.Through coordinated efforts across multiple departments at SJICSR, doctors performed CABG surgery and installed the pacemaker. Volunteers from the NGO raised around Rs 2 lakh for the treatment and surgery, while the institute covered the remaining cost on humanitarian grounds. The total bill was over Rs 4 lakh.Beyond the medical complexity, doctors navigated a language barrier. “We need to appreciate the efforts of our doctors for delivering quality care even when there was a language barrier. As the patient and her family could not speak anything other than Arabic, our doctors used translation apps to communicate with her,” Dr Dinesh said.BLURBFor the Syrian family that once faced the possibility of being stranded in a foreign land without hope, the outcome was nothing short of transformative. “When it comes to patient care, money, nationality, religion or any other aspect shouldn’t become a factor. We are happy the patient received the treatment she needed, and we discharged her Wednesday. Active Bengaluru Foundation volunteers made arrangements, booked tickets and will send Fedda Fares’ family back to Syria by next week,” said Dr Dinesh B, director, SJICSR.
