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There is no doubt that acute medical care saves lives. But saving a life is only the first part of recovery. Rehabilitation helps a person live the life that has been saved in the way they want to. Image used for representational purposes only
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
When Sidhartha Bandha’s 63-year-old father suffered a stroke, the hospital did what it was supposed to do: it saved his life. But when he came back home, another struggle began.
His father could no longer do things on his own. The doctors told the family that rehabilitation and physiotherapy were important for his recovery. But the physiotherapy service available to them was far away. For a family dependent on daily earnings, travelling repeatedly for treatment meant spending money on transport, losing working days and managing the difficulty of moving a person who could barely move independently.
The family eventually had to give up on regular rehabilitation. Over time, Sidhartha’s father developed contractures, a condition in which muscles and joints become stiff and shortened when a person remains immobile for a long period. Sitting, standing, changing position and doing everyday activities can become a struggle.
Sidhartha remembers a different life for his father, a life where he worked in the fields and helped with household chores. His father was alive now, his life saved. But what kind of a life was it?
