Bengaluru: Family that nursed comatose boy for 6 years shattered by his death

BENGALURU: More than six years after he slipped into a coma due to an alleged overdose of anaesthesia before undergoing surgery for hernia, Vignesh, 21, from Channasandra in Uttarahalli, south Bengaluru, died on January 3. Police are now waiting for a report from the Karnataka Medical Council (KMC) to proceed further on his parents’ complaint of medical negligence, lodged in 2017.

Vignesh’s family, who had nursed him with the hope he would come out of the coma, is devastated. In the past six years, his mother Valli, 40, would hardly step out of home, let alone watch a movie or buy clothes. Her world revolved around her son who had slipped into unconsciousness when he was in class 9. Doctors told Valli that Vignesh would be like “a doll” for the rest of his life, but she never lost hope. Vignesh’s sister Arpitha, 23, would lend her mother a helping hand. Even after marriage, she stayed with her parents to take care of her brother.

But the trauma took a toll on Valli’s mental health. She has withdrawn into a cocoon and talks to no one, says Arpitha.

Meanwhile, Eshwar, the father and sole breadwinner of the family, spent his entire life savings on the medical expenses. “We bought two properties in 2016 and 2017, both of which were sold to raise funds for Vignesh’s medical expenses. We spent Rs 1.5 crore on him and are in debt now,” says the 45-year-old.

Arpitha recalls that her brother, who studied at Our School in Banashankari, was full of life and loved karate and dancing. Found to have a hernia, he was admitted to Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, Padmanabhanagar, on April 5, 2017. He was taken to the OT at 3.30pm. In their complaint to Banashankari police later, Vignesh’s parents accused Dr Mayya and Dr Anil of medical negligence, saying the boy was administered anaesthesia thrice. “By 6pm, we were told Vignesh was doing well but the surgery was not performed. Around 8.30pm, they informed us he had fits, fluctuations in BP, and a cardiac arrest. We were asked to shift him to Sagar Hospitals in Jayanagar,” says Arpitha.

According to the complaint, Agrasen hospital promised the family it would bear the treatment expenses. Medical investigation at Sagar Hospitals revealed that Vignesh’s brain was irreversibly damaged. He was in the ICU for two months and in a ward for nine months. The hospital bill touched Rs 19 lakh, of which Agrasen hospital paid only Rs 5 lakh before stopping communications with the family, as per the FIR registered on July 17, 2017.

Finding it tough to meet his medical expenses, the family took the boy home. They hired a nurse to care for him but later found it hard to afford that too. Valli and Arpitha took turns to look after him.

On January 1, 2024, Vignesh’s BP dropped suddenly and his oxygen levels decreased. Two days later, he was no more.