Coimbatore: From the world of grave silence, little Pugalarasu has stepped into the sound zone now. The hearing impaired boy had neither heard his mother’s lullaby nor his father's affectionate calls. That was until eight months ago. Now, he immediately responds to even a mild clap from his father Suresh Kumar, 31, a marketing professional and mother Kaliswari, 27 from Kinathukadavu in Pollachi.
He is showing significant improvement in learning to speak, thanks to the cochlear implantation he underwent under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. It was only when he was three that Suresh Kumar and Kaliswari noticed the indifference of Puzhalenthi to sounds.
“On a Deepavali day, my child showed no reaction to even high decibel sounds of crackers fired in our neighbourhood. It then came as a shock to us, when Puzhalarasu was examined and found to be suffering from hearing loss,” said Kaliswari.
The family was plunged in deep sorrow as a cochlear implantation in a private hospital costs upto '8 lakh.
“It was almost near impossible for us to arrange the money. We were extremely concerned over the future of our only child, when the state government's insurance scheme came in handy,” she said.
After undergoing cochlear implantation eight months ago, Puzhalarasu, who is now studying class two in a private school, has become confident enough to venture out on his own, without his parents’ help.
“Earlier he used to be very shy, but has changed a lot now. My child is also undergoing therapy to learn to speak. Even teachers have credited him for performing well in academics,” said his proud mother, who aspires to make him a doctor.
Similar is the story of 7-year-old Dharanendra from Odayankulam in Pollachi, who has now regained his hearing abilities after a cochlear implantation.
The joy of his birth was short-lived for his parents, when they found their child’s problem. “Following the surgery, done recently, my boy has turned normal and has learnt to take care of his activities on his own,” said his father Kanagaraj.
Till now, a total of 1, 36,641 persons from the Coimbatore district have benefited from the state governments insurance scheme.
