In addition to Chetana’s work at the hospitals, it mainly focuses on patients suffering from Tuberculosis. This is one of the biggest killer diseases in our country and is very contagious, which makes it all the more rampant in our urban slums.
The Government of India provides free first line drugs to patients of Tuberculosis (TB). However the government does not provide for the thousands of patients suffering from Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) and Extra Drug Resistant (XDR) TB. Chetana is amongst the very few organizations that provide investigations, diagnosis and medication for MDR and XDR TB. The treatment runs for approximately 18 to 24 months and costs between Rs.3500 to Rs.10,000 per patient per month. Chetana has a 90% success rate with these patients. Even though we do have collaborations with pharmaceutical companies like Macloeds for subsidized drugs, the cost of treatment for our current 36 patients with XDR Tuberculosis runs over 21 lakhs per annum. Chetana brings new hope to these TB patients by providing them with free medication and counseling. We also educate family members on how to arrest the spread of the disease. Handicapped, orphaned and aged TB patients are also rehabilitated.
DEVIKA
Devika, motherless and all alone, was discovered by Chetana volunteers at the pediatric ward of GT Hospital. She was badly malnutritioned and suffered from TB. She didn’t want to go back to the streets of Mumbai where she lived on the pavement. Chetana found a place for Devika at St. Catherine’s Home in Andheri where Sister Shanti looks after her like a real mother, along with 20 other children.
PRATIK & KARTIK – A PROMISE OF THE FUTURE
Pratik, Kartik and their mother had bone TB. They arrived at GT hospital with no means to undergo the required treatment. Doctors at GT referred all 3 patients to Chetana. Kartik needed a brace to hold up his tiny partially paralyzed torso. They embarked on the long road to recovery under Chetana’s watchful gaze. After the treatment and a high protein diet, both boys today are fully recovered. The mother’s treatment is still ongoing but she lives with hope and a promise of the future she can see in her sons.
AFIYA, AKIB & AFREEN – A STITCH IN TIME
Afiya Mansoose is the oldest of 3 siblings. Afiya is undergoing Multi Drug Resistant TB treatment at GT Hospital. Her brother Akib (16 years) and sister Afreen (14 years old) are also undergoing treatment for their MDR TB. They contracted the disease through unsanitary cramped living conditions and their close proximity to one another. Their parents make decorative bags to make ends meet and Afiya is training to be a tailor. Chetana has sponsored the MDR TB drugs for all 3 siblings.