Kerala mother battles the woe of medical negligence.

In the year 2003, while returning to Wayanad from Bengaluru, Mini Ganesh made a firm decision to fight for her six-year-old daughter’s health. She was adamant about fighting for justice till her last breath.When her daughter, Anjali, was just two years old, she was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1998. Mini claimed that her husband was then working in the UAE, and she was alone. She took her daughter for chemotherapy and saw her daughter in pain.

Anjali went through a lot of painful treatments for three consecutive years. And finally, by the end of 2001, Doctors claimed that she was cured with no signs of cancer found in the tests.Gradually, Anjali returned to everyday life.
However, by the end of 2002, Anjali started having headaches and could see coloured lights. She insisted on walking while holding her mother’s hand as she was losing her balance.
Immediately she was taken to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and was treated by a new doctor. PM Kutty, the new doctor, prescribed tablets for acidity and gas. And after paying repeated visits, he referred them to the Ophthalmology department, and they named her spectacles. However, her condition worsened, and Mini took her to private hospitals but had to stop due to their financial crisis.
Mini then took Anjali to Bengaluru, where she was told that cancer had spread to Anjali’s brain and she would turn blind soon, leading to death. After receiving this news, Mini filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
The accused doctor did not appear for any of the first hearings called by the Commission but for the final hearing. He there said Anjali was not his patient. Human Rights Commission released a verdict in 2008.
Finally, after nearly 18 years, the HC upheld the 2008 verdict of the Human Rights Commission on June 21, 2021. The doctor argued that the Commission had no right to order compensation or direct the Medical Council to take action. But the HC directed that the Commission has all rights.
The mother did not just fight a medical and a legal battle for her daughter but fought to give hope and power to the people facing the same plight.