IMPOSSIBLE,MADE POSSIBLE

It was somewhere in the middle of August 2009,a person called me in my mobile saying his son is in his death bed and that he needs help of media to raise money and help for the treatment of the young boy, at the first instance, as I am frequented by such calls so I had taken the matter a bit lightly saying I am saving your mobile number and as and when I can arrange to do I’ll contact you. The man turned back the next morning again finally I thought to give it some thought and to do the story I went to their house, from the beginning all I thought of it was the matter is somewhat dicey, the person as he introduced himself was a businessman and of course a marwari businessman are known to be well enough to bear the treatment of his second son.

Anyway I listened to the story of their 21 years old son Abhisekh Bansal and the condition as he was suffering from a rare phenomenon called “Visceral Myopathy” Intestine disorder and it finally urged me to do at least a story to highlight the plight of the youth and the family. I gave the news idea to my editor and move forward with doing the story, it was on 28th August 2009 I reached the house of Abhisekh Bansal in Kolkata’s Kakurgachi area, the house was full of people, but I just wanted to meet the boy, I enquired for him and move towards his room, the skinny boy was laying on the bed with numerous tubes poured inside his body from almost all parts of his skinny body, the Television was on and the remote was in his hand he hardly has energy to push the buttons, seeing me he turned towards me. I asked him “How are you Abhisekh”, he said he’s well but is full of afraid of his own condition. For last two years he was suffering from the disease unknown to the family and it was recently detected that Abhisekh is suffering from Visceral Myopathy or Small Bowl Intestine Damage, the intestine inside him is damaged and the food cannot be passed inside through the mouth so he was given food in the form of saline. Abhisekh’s younger sister Neha came to me and just said Joydeep Bhaiyaa mere bhaiyaa ko bacha lo…I said to her pray to almighty and your strong brother will anyway brave enough to fight the disease. I can just report the condition of Abhisekh in the media and accordingly it was made a emotional story, Abhisekh’s intestines needs to be transplanted and for the success of Intestine transplant, the treatment can be only done in St Petersburg in USA and the total cost will cost at around 10 Crore Indian currency.

After the disease was detected family had already spent what they have and their only source of income their small grocery shop was on the verge of close.

Finally my story on the condition of Abhisekh Bansal was aired in 24Ghanta, 24 hrs Bengali News Channel, Sister Channel of Zee News on 29th August 2009 and it worked wonder. The assignment desk of the channel was flooded with phone calls of generous people around Bengal offering help. Immediately the Kolkata Police Chief, Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty reached the family to offer all help both in cash and kind and thereby started the series of continuous flow of generous peoples help to the family, FIITJEE, Ratan Tata Trust and generous Individual came to the family and flow of money started coming for the operation of young Abhisekh. The money reached nearly 50 lakh. Then came a phone call from renowned Intestine Transplant Surgeon Dr A.Soin from Delhi’s Sir Gangaram Hospital, took up the challenge to operate Abhisekh and give a new ray of life challenging the treatment in St Petersburg. The operation was successful and it creates a medical history most important of all, It gives a new life to Abhisekh Bansal and a great satisfaction to myself that through my work I had at least help fulfill the wishes of younger sister Neha, to save her brother Abhisekh.