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Improving the Quality of Life of Indigent Patients
A Truck Driver
 Ahmed,
a hardworking, middle-aged truck driver, has one ambition
in life: to educate his two sons, aged eight and twelve. An
unlettered man himself, he was forced to work for a living
when barely out of childhood. Today, he slogs day and night
as a truck driver, earning up to Rs. 300 (US$ 5) a day. Conscious
of his own lack of education, he is struggling hard to give
his boys the opportunity he never had. He sends his children
to St. Lawrence School where the fee, after concessions, is
Rs. 520 per child. Transport, books and stationery, uniforms
and other incidentals all add up to a hefty sum, but Ahmed
does not give up.
For the last couple of years, the truck driver had been experiencing chest
pain for which he even visited a cardiovascular hospital.
But the prescribed medication and treatment were beyond his
pocket, so he began to ignore the pain, hoping it would go
away. Finally, the pain forced him to approach AKUH, where
a Coronary Angiogram revealed CAD (coronary artery disease)
and he was advised Cardiac Bypass Surgery. Panic-stricken,
he wanted to run away as there was no way he could pay the
total cost of the surgery, Rs.220,000 (US$ 3,667). An AKUH
welfare officer came to his aid.
She explained to him the necessity of the surgery and advised him to arrange
whatever funds he could. She also guided him to contact private
donors and agencies, with whose help the truck driver was
able to raise Rs. 134,000 (US$ 2,233). The remaining amount,
Rs. 86,000 (US$ 1,434), was provided by the AKUH Patient Welfare
Department and Ahmed was promptly admitted to AKUH.
He spent seven days in the hospital, which included Cardiac Rehabilitation.
Now, free of pain and fired anew with his old ambition, he
is back at work, driving day and night to ensure a bright
future for his little boys.
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