A Rose, A Smile And Dreams Of A Future: CM Shivakumar’s Children’s Day Visit To Kidwai

Bengaluru: A rose in her hand, a smile on her face and a heart full of hope, a 10 year old girl had been waiting since morning at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology. She had been told that a “big doctor” was coming to the hospital, and she wanted to welcome him with a flower.

When Chief Minister DK Shivakumar walked into the children's ward on Saturday, on the occasion of Children’s Day, the 10-year-old from Raichur, who will celebrate her birthday in December, introduced herself with the enthusiasm of a child meeting a special visitor.

“I am from Raichur. I will turn 10 in December,” she told DK Shivakumar in a cheerful voice.

As he moved among the children, Shivakumar stopped beside another child, from Humnabad, and asked whether she knew who he was.

“Yes, I know you. You are DK Shivakumar, the Chief Minister,” she replied.

He then asked what she wanted to become when she grew up.

“Sir, I want to become a teacher,” she said.

“Become a teacher and serve the country,” he told her, encouraging her to hold on to her dream.

These were among the several moving encounters during the Chief Minister's visit to the hospital on Children's Day. For a few moments, the wards were filled with conversations about names, hometowns, school and dreams, taking the children and their family members away from the anxieties of hospital life.

Moving through the wards, the Chief Minister shook hands with the children, gently stroked their head, spoke to them and asked whether they were being looked after properly and receiving food on time. “You will get better,” he assured them.

The CM also visited the general ward, where children from different parts of Karnataka were undergoing treatment.

The visit extended beyond the children to the mothers who had travelled from different districts to stay beside them during treatment. Sitting with them, Shivakumar asked whether they were receiving the facilities they needed and whether anyone was demanding money from them. He assured them that cancer treatment facilities would be developed in different districts so that families would not always have to travel to Bengaluru.

He also asked one of the mothers present in the hospital, whether the family was receiving the benefits of the government's Gruha Jyothi and Gruha Lakshmi schemes.

For some parents, however, even a brief conversation about their child's illness was difficult. When the Chief Minister stopped beside the two-year-old girl, her mother struggled to say what the child was being treated for.

Asked what had happened to the little girl, Anita managed to say only “blood...” before the word cancer seemed to catch in her throat.

She had travelled from Kalaburagi to Bengaluru to get her daughter treated at Kidwai. She had kept the name of the disease within the family, sharing it only with close relatives. After months of treatment, the girl was now showing signs of improvement.

“She is doing better now, sir. Her condition is improving,” the mother told the Chief Minister.

At another instance, he learnt that the ration card of a family, who is from Kanakapura, had been changed from APL to BPL. He instructed officials present to ensure that the change was made immediately.

Speaking to reporters later, the Chief Minister said the sight of young children fighting cancer was deeply distressing and that the government had a responsibility to support not only the patients but also their families.

He announced that an additional 200 beds would be provided at Kidwai. The government would also examine a request for three acres of land to provide accommodation for mothers and other family members accompanying children for treatment.

Shivakumar said a programme was being drawn up to establish cancer treatment facilities in districts, including Tumakuru, Mysuru, Ballari, Kalaburagi and Raichur, to reduce the need for patients to travel to Bengaluru.

He said around 3.5 lakh patients visited Kidwai every year, with an average of 1,000 people seeking treatment daily. The hospital was also receiving patients from other States, including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, and providing free treatment to a large number of them.

The government had also approved the purchase of another robotic machine and other medical equipment at a recent Cabinet meeting, he said, adding that one robotic machine was already functioning at the hospital.