Achyut Raj was buried under the debris of Kalanki-based Lumbini Guest House for six hours before he was rescued. Upon arriving at Thapathali-based Norvic Hospital in the Capital for emergency treatment, doctors found Achyut Raj had suffered internal and external injuries including a fractured leg, nerve damage and non-functional kidney.

“There was a huge confusion initially as we could not find a hospital in the Capital where my son could undergo kidney dialysis,” Achyut Raj’s mother Purna Kumari Subedi said. “After visiting Norvic and then the Trauma Centre, dialysis for his non-functional kidney was finally done at the Grande Hospital.”

When his health condition did not improve even after ten days, Purna Kumari had flown her son to New Delhi chartering an air ambulance and admitted him to Medanta Hospital as per doctors’ advice on May 5.

“It has been over three weeks that my son has been battling for life in the hospital,” Purna Kumari, who originally hails from Nepalgunj, said. “He is currently transferred to the ICU and kept on ventilator. He cannot speak though he sometimes moves his body.”

Politburo member of UCPN (Maoist) party and Deputy Speaker of the erstwhile Constituent Assembly, Purna Kumari said her son Achyut earns his living through an ordinary stationery shop he runs in Nepalgunj. His wife and two small sons live in Chitwan.

“I have appealed to the government for financial help for the treatment of my son as any other earthquake victim,” 57-year-old Purna Kumari said. “Doctors have said that his condition in improving, but I cannot bear his mounting treatment expenses anymore.”

Purna Kumari said that more than IRs 100,000 is being spent each day on her son’s treatment in Medanta. Currently, she has been managing the treatment expenses through donations and loans from her relatives.

At the advice of Nepali Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyaya, Purna Kumari had appealed the government for financial assistant via Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office and the chief secretary. However, she said she was yet to receive any word from the government. A team led by Dr Yatin Mehta is overseeing Achyut’s treatment in Medanta. They are involved in the dialysis of his kidney which is still not working and are watching over the problems in his nerves.