Mumbai: When assistant casting director Pooja Tiwari, a single mother of two, was told by doctors that her elder son Aditya (13) had developed a blockage in his heart and his internal organs were failing, it was the biggest shock of her life.
She took him to Parel-based Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, where he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
At a time of frailty, when she is struggling to remain strong and provide for her children, Pooja received tremendous help – financial, emotional as well as in being able to shoulder her domestic responsibilities during the course of the treatment at Wadia’s palliative care centre.
Similar was the case for Srinagar-based Zahid Bhatt, who has immense gratitude towards the staff of the centre for taking care of his 16-year-old son Haamid who underwent a bone marrow transplant two weeks ago. His elder son was the donor, and also had to undergo surgery. The family has been in Mumbai for six months now. “Even though we have been away from home, the staff here has become our family,” he said.
The hospital authorities partnered with Cipla Foundation to set up a paediatric palliative home care service. Named ‘Titli’, the city’s first such centre was inaugurated on Friday in the hospital premises.
This facility will act as an added layer of care for children with chronic conditions or those with serious illnesses, helping to alleviate their suffering and to improve their overall quality of life for the children as well as their families.
Talking about the need to create a support system for families, CEO of the hospital Dr Minnie Bodhanwala said that parents of children with diseases like diabetes, HIV, thalassemia, muscular dystrophy, and cancer live under immense stress. “Children often need to skip school and their parents have to miss work to care for them. Caregivers can get burnt out, too. It is important to take care of their mental health as it supports children and families throughout their illness trajectory,” she said.
The home-based palliative services were started a month back on a pilot basis. It has already been extended to 100 children so far. Its success made way for the service to launch full-fledged, with the existing palliative care centre at the hospital being its base.
Rumana Hamied, managing trustee of Cipla Foundation and Cipla Palliative Care & Training Centre said, “Children with serious illnesses can now receive the same quality of care in their own homes, while in the company of their siblings, parents, grandparents.” The pandemic had already necessitated this service as many children that were coming to the centre before were immuno-compromised, which meant palliative caregivers had to travel to them rather than the other way around, she added. The foundation, she said, has been providing 360 degrees of support to the families.
More information on the Titli home care service is available by calling the Saath Saath helpline (1800-202-7777), the national palliative care helpline that links callers to their nearest palliative care centre.