After financial assistance started pouring in for the five-year-old Bihar boy, who lost eight vertebrae in an extreme case of spinal tuberculosis, Gokuldas Tejpal (GT) hospital is preparing to procure a customised head and chest brace for the child to provide spinal support. A surgery of the spine is being planned in two months. Advertising Golu Rajbhar contracted tuberculosis in his spine about two years ago. His mother Anita Rajbhar, however, claims that no doctor in Bihar could diagnose the bacterial infection. Eight months ago, she and her son shifted to Mumbai when his condition deteriorated. Her husband Budhai, a handcart puller in Masjid Bunder, has been staying in the city for the past eight years. “He was diagnosed with TB here. But for the past six months, he has been unable to move his head or neck without pain. His condition has gotten worse. He lies on his back all the time,” Anita said. Medical records at GT hospital show that the boy is severely malnourished and is fast losing his vertebral column to the bacterial infection. The Indian Express reported that the boy’s father earns Rs 200 a day by pulling hand carts and has been struggling to collect over a lakh, estimated as the treatment cost. In the past two weeks, over 15 donors have approached the hospital. Social worker Anand Bharatrao said three donors have together given Rs 42,000 and another donor has promised Rs 1 lakh for the head brace. According to orthopaedic surgeon Dr Dheeraj Sonawane, an MRI and a CT-Scan conducted on the boy shows that five thoracic and three cervical vertebrae have dissolved due to tuberculosis bacteria, making his spine unstable and affecting his postures. Advertising “We have ordered a customised head brace from Delhi for temporary support to the spine. The brace will pull his head in a straight position from the spine to ensure that his back posture remains correct,” Sonawane said, adding that the child remains admitted for the past two months. “He faces risk of paralysis because his nerves can get affected any time,” Sonawane added. According to GT hospital superintendent Dr Santosh Gite, the boy is under multi-vitamins and a protein diet to pull him out of malnourishment. A biopsy conducted to assess the extent of bacteria in the spine was inconclusive. The doctors have currently put him under Category I treatment regime under the government-funded Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme. “We are yet to know whether he is drug resistant or drug sensitive. His body has responded to Category I treatment,” Sonawane said. While spinal TB is known to affect the bone and dissolve calcium, doctors in GT hospital claim that losing eight vertebra is a rare scenario. According to Dr Lalitkumar Anande, medical superintendent at Sewri TB hospital, delay in treatment, drop-out during treatment, and resistance to drug can further damage the spine. “The bacteria thrives on bone,” he said. The boy’s undernourishment and delay in initiation of treatment has worsened his spine. Golu will be discharged for a month to travel to Bihar, his parents said. The doctors plan to put his head and chest in a brace during the travel period to prevent further damage to his spinal cord. “The surgery we plan to do will be to support his spine. But that will happen once we see the results of the brace,” Sonawane added.

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