One-and-a-half-year-old baby found alive just before last rites; hospital denies declaring death

DHARWAD: A one-and-a-half-year-old baby from Dharwad, who was believed to be dead, was later found to be alive just before the final rites were to take place.

The baby was identified as Akash, son of Basavaraj from Basapur village in Navalagund taluk. Earlier, a doctor from KIMS Hospital in Hubballi had reportedly declared that the child was dead. The child was admitted to KIMS Hospital on August 13 due to illness. The doctor said that there is a possibility of the child losing his life if it is taken off ventilator support and reportedly died on Thursday.

The parents of the child took him to their village and were preparing for the funeral ritual. Surprisingly, the child came back to life when they put a few drops of water in the mouth just before the funeral. The parents took the child to the hospital again as his hands and feet were shaking. Currently, the child is undergoing treatment at KIMS Hospital in Hubballi.

Ramalingappa, Director of KIMS explained that the child was diagnosed with hydrocephalus wherein the cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain. In such cases,  a ventriculoperitoneal shunt in the head to drain out the excessive fluid and help restart cognitive functions.

“When the child was brought here, the paediatric surgeon and staff admitted him to the PICU. After the surgery in the head, the child developed some health complications, but was alive on ventilator support for two days. But none of the surgeons told the parents that the child had died when they got him discharged from here. Our paediatrician told Basavaraj that the child’s response to the treatment was not good and explained everything about the treatment. They got the child discharged against medical advice and took him home”, Ramalingappa alleged.