Bengaluru: For Kusumanjali, a Class 10 student from Chinnanaganahalli on the KGF-Kuppam Road in Kolar district, the past few months have been a test of endurance. On Aug 14 last year, she was hit by a tractor while on way to school — an accident that forced her family on a desperate run across hospitals in KGF and Kolar before finally reaching Bengaluru. By then, doctors had no option but to amputate her leg.Her father, Shankar, a small farmer, sold a portion of his land and mortgaged his house to pay for her treatment and spent another Rs 5-6 lakh on follow-up care.Kusumanjali, despite her condition, insisted on appearing for her SSLC exams this year. “She promised me she would pass,” Shankar said. True to her word, she travelled to the exam centre in an ambulance, writing her papers with the help of a scribe. Her grit caught the attention of senior BJP leader and Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar, who met her and promised to support her rehabilitation, including helping her get a prosthetic leg.As she began prosthetic trials, hope returned — only to be hit by another setback. A few days ago, Kusumanjali developed fever and was readmitted to the same private hospital. Doctors diagnosed a bone infection, and within days, the bill climbed to Rs 5.5 lakh. With his resources exhausted, Shankar was left with just Rs 15,000. “I didn’t know what to do. I even offered to sell my kidney to pay the bill,” he said.That was when help arrived. Suresh Kumar rushed to the hospital and tried to rope in his colleagues to speak with the hospital authorities, in vain. He reached out to chief minister Siddaramaiah’s media advisor KV Prabhakar, who responded immediately. Prabhakar said: “The matter was brought to the notice of CM Siddaramaiah and he directed us to act. We stepped in and assured that the bill would be cleared through the CM’s relief fund.”Kumar said the hospital had now agreed to not take any money from the family and to discharge the girl in two days after she stabilises. “We will then shift her to a hospital where doctors have assured me that they will treat her without any charges and fit her with a prosthetic leg,” Kumar said.For Kusumanjali’s family, this was nothing short of a miracle. Shankar said: “It was like a divine intervention when we received help like this.”Recounting his conversation with the girl, Kumar said: “She told me that she aspires to become an IPS officer. I felt it was my duty to help this girl achieve her dreams.”
