A womans struggle to keep her son alive

Musheerabad: Rajamani of Banda Maisamma Colony, near Indira Park, is showering enduring love and affection towards her son Raju, 20, who has been bed-ridden for the past nine years with a strange ailment. She has been taking care of the apple of her eye as no one can. Rajamani, a sweeper in the park, is facing a difficult situation where she can neither afford the treatment for her son nor abdicate her responsibility.

Nevertheless, the doughty woman continues the Herculean task, even as she puts up with a toil taking care not to show it. Her husband, a labourer, shares the burden of taking care of their only son. The poor couple struggles to keep Raju alive, unable to meet the cost of the treatment.
The tragedy struck the duo, when Raju, who was 11 years old at the time, collapsed suddenly.

When the couple took him to the hospital, the doctors told that the boy had suffered damage in the spinal cord. Since then, Raju has been confined to bed with symptoms of polio and both his limbs virtually lifeless. As both of them have to work to live, Rajamani carries Raju on her back wherever she goes, since she can’t afford to leave him alone on the bed.

Neighbours who couldn’t see the family’s struggles suggested that they request for mercy killing for their son. Some others advised them to shift the boy to an ashram. But Rajamani did none of it. In a steely resolve, she decided that she would face any sufferings to take care of Raju. The neighbours, who are moved by the couple’s plight, told The Hans India that as a loving mother Rajamani virtually keeps her son closest to her heart, rather than on the back.