LOGIN DASHBOARD

    Photo Essays

    4 MIN READ

    Critical care

    Sujan Shrestha, June 10, 2020, Kathmandu

    Critical care

      Share this article

    The lockdown has made it exceedingly difficult for Tul Bahadur Baram to get the dialysis treatment he needs

    (The Record)

    For the last three months, Tul Bahadur Baram, 18, from Taku, Gorkha, has been living with his older sister Anni Baram, 21, near Dallu Pul, Kathmandu. They live in a small rented room that sees barely any light. 

    The siblings came to Kathmandu almost a year ago after both of Tul Bahadur’s kidneys started to fail. Ever since, Tul Bahadur, a Grade 8 student, has not been attending school. The siblings had to leave their village because dialysis treatment is available in only the major cities in Nepal.

    The first signs that there was something wrong with his kidneys emerged when Tul Bahadur was 17. His right ear had started to itch. People with dysfunctional kidneys often report experiencing itchiness. His mother initially thought some insect must have lodged itself inside the ear. For a few days, she poured some oil into his ear, to force the insect out, but there was nothing. 

    Later, Tul Bahadur started showing other symptoms. For example, the right half of his face started to swell, and the family knew he needed to get diagnosed. One day, it got so bad, he fainted while drinking tea. That’s when the family decided to rush him to Kathmandu. 

    In Kathmandu, he was admitted to Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj, where he learned that his kidney was failing, owing to sugar and blood-pressure problems he had developed.

    The siblings decided to stay back in Kathmandu because Tul Bahadur would need regular dialysis. For patients who cannot afford the service, the government has a system whereby certain hospitals provide free dialysis services. Tul Bahadur’s designated hospital was Buland Siddhi Hospital, in Gongabu. But once the lockdown was clamped, the hospital was not able to provide free dialysis treatment for him. According to the hospital, they have had problems with routing the Ministry of Health’s funds for their dialysis unit. Tul Bahadur was thus referred to a hospital in Bhaktapur, instead.

    For the siblings, Bhaktapur is impossible to get to, especially in this time of the lockdown. So Tul Bahadur has continued to get his dialysis done, on credit, at Buland Siddhi Hospital. He has been told the credit will eventually get waived. But when we met him to do the story, we observed how Tul Bahadur had to make his case for availing of the free service.  

    For getting by in Kathmandu, the siblings depend on the earnings made by Tul Bahadur’s sister. She works at a Patanjali shop in Khusibu, Naya Bazaar, and earns Rs. 12,000 per month. Rs.3,500 of that goes towards their rent.

    Whenever he finds the pressures of his life in the capital getting to him, Tul Bahadur reminisces about his school days, about how he and his friend would go fishing in the Daraudi River. He used to dream of someday becoming a lahure. For now, his family just hopes that he can continue to get his dialysis treatment.

    Tul Bahadur often misses his schoolmates back home. Here, he’s mostly housebound, but in Gorkha he used to play volleyball and fish with his friends.

     Tul Bahadur’s swollen stomach. After a person’s kidneys fail, the body swells whenever waste fluids build up.

     Tul Bahadur gets ready to go to Buland Siddhi Hospital. Before the lockdown, the siblings would get there in an ambulance, for which they paid between Rs 500 to 1,000.

    Tul Bahadur takes a combination of medicines for his kidney ailment. He will probably need to continue taking medications and undergoing dialysis for life--until he gets a kidney transplant.

    Tul Bahadur descends from his room to start the walk to the hospital. It’s going to be a long walk.

     Tul Bahadur and his sister begin walking from Naya Bazaar to Gongabu Chowk, where Buland Siddhi Hospital is located.

    Along the way, the siblings walk under the overhead bridge near the New Buspark. For a dialysis patient, it can be exceedingly difficult to walk the distance the duo traverse.

    Tul Bahadur’s favourite drink is Sprite. To maintain his body’s fluid balance, he must watch his liquid intake. But he is allowed to drink some Sprite before his dialysis.

     Tul Bahadur shows the scars from his AV fistula surgery. Doctors make an AV fistula connection at the start of the dialysis process.

    Tul Bahadur grimaces as a nurse inserts a needle in his vein to start the dialysis. The overall dialysis procedure lasts around four hours.

    During dialysis, Tul Bahadur’s blood is pumped through a dialyser, which takes his blood, cleans it, and returns the cleaned blood back to his blood vessels.

     Tul Bahadur eats during his dialysis. His mouth gets dry during the treatment, but he has to refrain from consuming fluids.

    Tul Bahadur and his sister hold hands on their way home after getting done with his treatment.

    :::::::::

     



    author bio photo

    Sujan Shrestha  Sujan Shrestha is a photographer based in Kathmandu.



    Comments

    Get the best of

    the Record

    Previous Next

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    COVID19

    News

    3 min read

    Covid19 Roundup, 16 May: Cases rise to 278 as govt probes Nepal’s first suspected Covid-19 death

    The Record - May 16, 2020

    A daily summary of Covid19 related developments that matter

    Perspectives

    4 min read

    Slowing down for mindful action

    Rubin Ghimire - April 15, 2022

    The stress of a changing world is putting pressure on our ability to act mindfully. But opportunities to be mindful are present with us throughout the day.

    COVID19

    Features

    5 min read

    Vaccinations to resume Wednesday with Chinese-made vaccines

    Ishita Shahi - April 6, 2021

    While all vaccinations so far have been the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Nepal will now be rolling out the vaccines from Sinopharm

    Explainers

    Perspectives

    7 min read

    The devil on one side and a pandemic on the other

    Pranaya Sjb Rana - May 22, 2021

    In choosing political expediency over the pandemic, Prime Minister Oli and President Bhandari have doomed many more citizens to death.

    The Wire

    News

    2 min read

    Nepali journalists detained in Qatar return home

    The Record - January 17, 2018

    But it's not a big deal, say the journalists detained in Qatar for six hours

    Photo Essays

    Features

    16 min read

    Men of valour: A personal tribute

    Sam Cowan - September 7, 2020

    Retired British General Sam Cowan recounts the times he spent with five Gurkha Victoria Cross holders from the Second World War.

    Perspectives

    7 min read

    The die has been cast

    Pranaya Sjb Rana - May 2, 2021

    With over 7,000 cases over the past 24 hours, Nepal has crossed the point of no return. The best time to act was yesterday; the second best time is now.

    Features

    11 min read

    The right to bodily autonomy

    Ameesha Rayamajhi - June 7, 2022

    Abortion has been legal in Nepal since 2002 but there could be fallout from any overturning of Roe v Wade in the United States. 

    • About
    • Contributors
    • Jobs
    • Contact

    CONNECT WITH US

    © Copyright the Record | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy