Loss of limbs leads to loss of livelihood

BY LILARAJ KHADKA,Birtamod, Apr. 22: Just a month ago, Umesh Khati, 27, of Benuwajha, Ward No. 5 of Kankai Municipality, left for employment in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, leaving behind his pregnant wife. He carried a dream to provide for his family and to replace the leaking tin roof of his home. His dreams were not grand, yet they now seem forever out of reach.

Umesh, who had been working as a sanitation worker in Abu Dhabi for the past 17 months, suddenly collapsed while at work about a month ago. His friends rushed him to a hospital there. He regained consciousness only after a month, when doctors diagnosed him with meningococcal infection, a life-threatening blood infection. The disease had turned both his hands and legs black, making amputation unavoidable. Following this, the company sent him back to Nepal.

Currently, at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, both of Umesh’s hands and legs have been amputated. The surgery was performed last Saturday, and he is now undergoing treatment in the ICU. However, his family is struggling to afford further medical care.

To cover initial expenses, his father, Tek Bahadur Khati, sold their buffalo for Rs. 80,000, and along with Umesh’s wife, Tirtha Kumari, travelled to Kathmandu. The family has already exhausted their savings and taken loans for the surgeries. Now, they face not only the burden of ongoing treatment costs but also the debt incurred before leaving for foreign employment. For his ageing parents, he was their only support in old age.

Tirtha Kumari shared that the family had no choice but to agree to amputation. Now, their greatest concern is how to manage the costs of his continued treatment.

The Khati family owns only a small, old tin-roofed house and one kattha of land. With Umesh’s condition, the hopes of his elderly parents, his wife, and their 17-month-old daughter have been shattered.