Cripple gets a leg-up from medicos

Alappuzha: Biju Joseph, 39, who has remained a cripple for the last 17 years following an accident, can now hope to lead a better life thanks to the initiative  of the Alappuzha medicos.

Last week,  he attended a skill development programme held by ‘Karunyam,’ a pain and palliative care unit of the  medical college here, where he learnt   the skills of  making  handicrafts and ornaments.

Joseph was one of the temporary workers  employed  by the water authority to launch the super- chlorination programme  following the outbreak of Cholera  in the district in 1996.  He  fell off the 22-foot water tank  run by the authority at Kappakada of Punnapra here as he became unconscious while  chlorinating it.

His spinal cord was injured and he has remained  wheel chair-bound since then. The water authority has not done anything to alleviate his misery.

“I have been living in a small house at Kappakada. Initially, I  got some financial assistance from voluntary organisations. After I registered a case, I got Rs 1.5  lakh a decade ago.  I need  about Rs 1,000 per month for medical expenses alone. Still I cannot  move my legs  and my hands do not function  well,” he says. 

Joseph is now being looked after by his old parents.  “I  have no other relatives. I have spent  17 years inside the home. Hence, I decided to learn the skills of making handicrafts and ornaments from Karunyam,”  he says.

Dr Sairu Philip, associate professor who heads the pain and palliative care unit,  says Joseph is being provided raw materials to make handicrafts, soap powder and soap apart from different types of ornaments. “We will also help him to market the products,” she says.