A joyful moment as polio victims Arun, Ruckika and Sangeeta practice standing and walking for the first time on their lives. Jyothi caring for a young polio patient.   Project Manager Josef Suess Mumbai (Bombay), India Polio Child Relief Mumbai Project No: I16 Project Manager: Josef Suess Contact Info: Email: pcr_mumbai@hotmail.com For several years now, the Polio Child Relief (PCR) team, currently headed by project managers Josef Suess and M.K.Jyothi, have worked to better the life of polio victims in the Mumbai (Bombay) area, in collaboration with Dr. Paresh Desai of Shraddha Hospital. Since 1997, hundreds of poor polio affected children have successfully received free treatment under this project, in a country where there are still thousands and thousands of polio victims. The first step in the Polio Child Relief process is that PCR volunteers visit slum areas to locate children in need of this correctional surgery. Free check-ups are then arranged, after which the children are admitted to Shraddha Hospital, where they receive free surgery. The sponsorships for these operations are raised by the PCR volunteers. A standard operation, which Dr. Desai performs at cost basis is the equivalent of US $95. The cost for a difficult limb-lengthening surgery is US $210. The volunteers of PCR provide patients with complimentary follow-up care and free consultation, as well as attending to emergencies and coordinating the patients’ post-operative treatment until it is successfully completed. To donate to this Family Care Foundation Project, please note Project NAME and then click here. Experience A Changed Life - In Photos Angura had polio since age 2, and was severely deformed. Josef checking up on her progress in her hut. Her legs now straight after successful treatment. Left: Moving around freely with caliper and crutches.     Right: Angura, now 10 years old, much more outgoing, and able to move around well on her own. The success of her treatment has given her self-esteem and a new life.

Real Life Story - Walking to School on Her Own - Unable to stand on her own, let alone walk, 7-year-old Angura is now walking for the first time in her life (click here for full story)

Real Life Story - Surgery Transforms Impossible Dream to Reality - Shalini had contracted polio in her native India, a country where polio still claims many thousands of victims...(click here for full story

Meet Dr. Desai, Orthopedic Specialist, and others on Medical Team

Dr. Paresh Desai, a renowned specialist in orthopedic surgery, has dedicated his life and skills to helping as many polio afflicted children as possible to receive free correctional surgery at his hospital.

Dr. Paresh Desai with one of the polio patients

A tribute to Dr.Desai, for his thoughtful consideration toward the polio patients he serves. Rather than ask these handicapped patients to travel all the way to the main hospital for admission for operation, he arranges it so the patients come to his nearby hospital in town. Then after the morning session he drives them in his own car to the other hospital to be operated on there. Regardless of whether someone is poor or well to do, he treats each person as a respected human being, manifesting this attitude in his caring actions towards them.

Click here for a full explanation about the Limb Lengthening procedure used

The manufacturing of calipers for polio patients may seem less glamorous and more of a mundane job, but is a very important element toward the full recovery of the patients. We work closely with a small private institution which manufactures high quality orthopedic appliances. The firm is headed by Mr.. Arun Solat (see pictured at left) who is highly skilled in custom design, and also often offers valuable counsel as to what patients need and how they can progress best in gaining further mobility.

Mumbai Polio Camp

Banner that advertises our free Polio Camp
Volunteer Savio atop a jeep mounting a banner Peter shaving patient's leg, surgery prep.	Josef and Jyothi moving a patient to operating room
Ashok and Jyothi comfort a patient before her operation	Dr. Desai performing operation, assisted by volunteer Swati

Measurements taken of each patient for their calipers and crutches.	Verena looking after the needs of a patient.
Songs and inspiration helps them forget pain and hardship.	Three floors of a newly constructed commercial complex serve as wards for patients.
After operation: Care of polio patients by PCR volunteer.	Project Manager and Dr. Desai with donated wheelchair

From Crawling to Walking!

Nazir (left) crawled on hands and knees all of his life. After surgery, while in a cast he was also taught to read and write Hindi!	Three months after surgery, Nazir could completely stretch out his left leg.
Physiotherapy and proper exercises helped build up the muscles, enabling Nazir to use his leg fully for the first time in his life.	Nazir doing his first walking exercises. A special shoe and caliper was given to him to eventually move around without the need of crutches.

Zenabi -- starting a new life at age 16

Zenabi before her treatment could neither stand nor walk.

Zenabi is the second oldest child of a poor family of 4 children. Zenabi had had severe Post-Polio deformities in both legs with stiffened knee joints and paralysed lower limbs since her very early childhood. She was confined to her hutment's small quarters, where a family of 6 live in one room upstairs. Due to her handicap she was not able to go to school. For every outdoor activity, Zenabi had to be carried down a narrow, steep metal staircase by her father. She saw very little sunlight and fell ill with Tuberculosis.

After an initial checkup her treatment had to be postponed for 7 months until her tuberculosis was cured. Then she had 2 operations to straighten out her backward stiffened legs. These 2 operations were extremely difficult, but successful. We spent a lot of individual time with Zenabi and her family to support them morally during these difficult stages. She also required special physiotherapy and lots of exercises, which needed to be directly supervised. We also supplied her with educational materials to enable her to learn to read and write with the help of her sister and our assistance.

By the end of the year, Zenabi had completed her treatment of 4 operations with great success and we were all thrilled to see her stand up for the first time in her life. We know the attention and investment for her was worth it all. Her overall health has improved tremendously though her muscles are still quite weak. However with a special caliper which was made for her, she can now walk and move around and will soon start working as an operator in a telephone booth.

After her first operation. Zenabi is learning to read and write.	Josef with the special caliper, which was made for Zenabi to assist her in her walking.
Zenabi is excited to start a new life and is very thankful for all the help given. Thanks to the Free Correctional Treatment project of Polio Child Relief Mumbai and Dr. Desai's skill, Zenabi faces a much brighter future and will soon be able to lead an independent life.
Halfway through her treatment, she is beginning to stand up.	Happy parents with their daughter on the day when the caliper was fitted.

More Case Histories

Yogesh - It's astonishing to see the progress with Yogesh, who hails from a small fishing village outside Mumbai. After one operation, Dr. Desai ordered a caliper for him, which PCR sponsored, and he's mobile and walking around for the first time with this special caliper. After some months we'll review his case.

Tejal – This 7 yr.-old girl has suffered from Cerebral Palsy from birth. Three years back, Dr. Desai performed a difficult procedure on her spine, which included two operations to correct her clubbed feet. Tejal has since received successful Eggers surgery on both knees, and was fitted with a special caliper to assist her in her beginning walking exercises. However, due to Tejal’s weak overall physical condition, her left hip joint eventually dislocated as she started to use her body more, and put weight on her leg. A successful follow-up surgery was then completed by Dr. Desai, which focused on Tejal’s muscles and tendons, in which tendons are placed over the joint to keep the joint from dislocating again.

Sharad - Sharad had a successful limb-lengthening surgery recently, a series of three procedures to treat his deformed right leg, which was 2 inches shorter than the other. This included a correctional knee surgery, limb lengthening in lower right leg and foot/ankle release operation in his right foot. Sharad has now completed his recuperation process.

Treatment of a Child (Arun)

Top left: Arun's condition when we first met him.   Top right: Caring for Arun at the Polio Camp.     Bottom right: After Arun's operation, and removing of the casts, he is able to move around on his own for the first time in his life with calipers and crutches!

Work with Polio Victims in Slum Areas

Having to search out and then do follow-up with patients scattered in many different parts of these densely-populated slum areas can be quite time consuming, to say the least. Most these children live in poor slum-areas, where there is no telephone and sometimes their huts are not even numbered, making them very difficult to even locate in the first place!

So it's far from a case of following a map and just driving up to the right house in these slum areas. Visiting means to leave your vehicle somewhere along the main street, then continue on by foot into an area of sometimes 10-50,000 residents! Some lanes --space between one row of houses and another-- are sometimes not much wider than one meter (3 ft.). These lanes are also home to open water pipes and usually a drainage on the side of the path. Walking through such a labyrinth is sometimes like hop scotching through an obstacle course, while at same time guessing where to go!

Read more about this heart-touching program:

To donate to this Family Care Foundation Project, please note Project NAME and then click here.

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