Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1049626/Two-headed-baby-dies-family-home-poor-hospital.html
A baby with two heads has died because his parents could not afford to pay for his medical care.
The boy, named Kiron, was born on Monday to a 22-year-old mother in the Bangladesh town of Keshobpur. When word spread, a huge crowd of at least 150,000 people surrounded the hospital hoping to see him.
Doctors said they could raise the money to take him 100 miles to the capital Dhaka, but warned there would be ongoing medical costs.
Kiron's poverty-stricken parents said they could not afford further treatment, and against the advice of doctors, took him home to their village near Keshobpur.
There the child, who at first seemed healthy, developed a fever and died.
Privately, doctors said it would have been a miserable life for Kiron had he overcome his initial medical problems.
'Perhaps it was God's will that he passed away,' said one.
'We wanted to refer him to a hospital in Dhaka but the family was so poor that they could not afford to take him there, so they took him home where he died,' paediatrician K S Alam told the AFP news agency.
Officials feared that unless the baby was moved from the clinic in Bangladesh, where he was born, to a more secure hospital, the crowd would force their way in to gaze at the amazing sight.
If that happened, it was feared, mother and baby would be crushed.
In the past, babies born with physical abnormalities have been viewed in countries such as Bangladesh and India as living gods.
Kiron was born in a caesarean operation on Monday, weighing just over 12lb, in Keshobpur, 100 miles from the capital, Dhaka.
Newspaper Samakal said many well-wishers had left money for the baby's family.
The fact that baby Kiron died because his poverty-stricken parents could not afford the substantial amount of medical bills, made this is a very tragic incident. He was not given a chance to live.
Personally, I would rather baby Kiron not live. Indeed, it is inhumane to have such a thought, but I believe that if he were to have an opportunity to receive medical help, life would be miserable for him. The immense pain and suffering that he has to go through would not end in just one hospital visit. It would stay with him as long as he gets to live. In such a situation, not only does Kiron suffer, his parents and closed ones would have to bear with the pain, looking at him fighting through such an ordeal. Kiron’s parents would also need to devote a lot of time and effort in taking care of him as there may be multiple health implications that would arise. Besides, financial difficulties would pose as a constant issue that his parents have to struggle with. Ultimately, they have to seek medical help from countries with more advanced medical facilities which are unavailable in Bangladesh. This would then increase the burden for them. Furthermore, when Kiron grows up, he may not able to live like a normal boy. The search for society to accept him as a normal human being would be an arduous task.
However, I am confident that Kiron’s parents have not regretted giving birth to him. Although, they only get to spend a few days with him, the moments that they share together would stay within them for a lifetime.
Another interesting issue in this article is the cultural differences that many societies have. Kiron, being a baby with a physical abnormality is being worshipped by the Bangladeshis as a living God and the center of attention. Yet, in Asian societies, instead of being amazed by babies with abnormalities, they would often avoid discussing about such issues and have a compassionate view towards them. This greatly shows how each society views certain issues in a different manner.
14 comments:
I believe that it would be a tough choice to make. Kiron's parents must have thought for a long time before coming to this decision. If faced with the same situation, I might do what Kiron's parents did. Though there may be slight chances for Kiron to receive medical help, financial problems will continue to drain Kiron's parents. Moreover, chances of Kiron surviving is actually quite low. Therefore,I personally feel as Kiron's parents I would rather my child pass away in his hometown and in the arms of his love ones than to die in somewhere foreign.
this is a tough choice to make, to let her go abroad for operation or to let her die. Her parents did what they could to help her, but due to their financial status, there isn't much they can do. The best thing they can do is to shower the babies with love. although life is short. i believe they did what they could and they shouldn't regret it. Although the babies wont be around the parents physically, i am sure, they will forever live in the hearts of their parents.
every life is precious. to me, there should be no determining by humans whether the baby should be aborted or leave to die.
sure he will inevitably suffer when he grows older, or that his parents will face uinimaginable stress on the emotional and financial burden. But, lets think it through, who hasn't faced hardships before? (don't go comparing the intensity of hardships, because it just depends on how you percieve.. =p)
Hardships in life serve to strengthen one's faith and perseverence. after you survived through it, you would have emerged a stronger person. furthermore, others around you will see your testimony and hence be encouraged too.
Similarly in the two-headed baby incident. If i had a chance to provide for him financially, i would have brought him up.
agree with 'buzz'. every life is precious, they should be given a chance to live, even when it is a two-headed baby.
what i think is distinct of this piece of news is that, it is calling out to reach out for the reader's attention and sympathy.
i remember my dad reading this piece of news and he was sighing away and was shaking his head. indeed, this piece of news tugged at the hearts of its readers.
great reflection done.
looking forward to your next entry!!!
what a tough choice it is..well, sometimes its very difficult for us to say if letting her go is a bliss or cruelty to her. however, no matter what decisions her parents have made, i will totally respect it as they must have came a long way before they arrive at the conclusion (:
This is one of the many sad cases that can be seen everyday in the world. Little infants borned with defects. For this case, a child that is duo-headed. And as what Deborah have said, it might be better in this case for Kiron to leave this world. The pain that he is and will go through even if he seeks medical help will be unbearable for a fragile infant like him.
I am deeply perplex that the people in India sees babies with deformaties as living deity. And I am deeply sadden that lots of people actually went to the hospital just to see the baby. The infant is in need of medical help. But yet, those crowds merely just wanna see the 'living deity'. I find their actions rather rediculous. Even if it is rare to see such babies.
Another point I wish to say is that in the last part of the reflection. Some people see those babies as 'gods' while others will give a compassionate view. It is also sad to say that there are other people out there that sees these people with deformaties as 'freaks'. Well, i hope as time passes by, everyone will learn that it is not the people with the deformaties that wanted the defects, they are just born with it. Nobody choose to be abnormal.
Hi. IMHO, I totally reject your view of having to deny Kiron to live. Every person who is born into the world ought to have the chance to live their own live irregardless of their given physical form(s); be it perfect or disabled.
Just because it would mean that Kiron will have to experience and suffer from the lifelong physical and psychological trauma, does not necessitate the need to seek for death as the solution.
Since he is given a life in the world, he should live the fullest out of it and not be denied of living his own live.
Although his road in future may be tough, he may wish to spend his time meaningfully and have a purpose in life; but now it is too late..
My condolences to Kiron.
Thanks for sharing!
hi, phoebe here! really thank you so much for sharing this article with me, i really didnt know this piece of news. My deepest condolences to Kiron's family.
Anyway, for me, i feel that Kiron's parents are really honourable in that they were still willing to give birth to Kiron despite knowing his condition ( I presume). Furthermore, Kiron;s mother is so young, she is only 22 years old. That's just one year older than me. She certainly is very brave and I admire her courage.
Yeah, it may seem really inhumane to suggest that Kiron should not have lived but somehow, to suffer endlessly for days, months and years is also very cruel and torturing to the person, or baby for this matter.
I experienced this scenario before too, my grandfather was in ICU due to heart failure for more than a month and one day in ICU is really expensive. As the days got longer, his health was getting worse and my family reached a point where funds were exhausted and we could see the suffering in my grandad's eyes. To make the decision to carry on or to let him go was very hard but seeing his suffering come to an end was a relief to me..
So, back to the topic, if you were to experience this same kind of situation, what would you do?
Hi Melvin.
Yes, i understand that every person has the right to live irregardless of any unfortunate disability.
However, at the infant stage, they rely totally on their parents or care-taker to ensure that their needs are taken care of. Since parents are the ones who are solely responsible for the well being of their children, the choice of living lies in them.
Besides, even if he were to live, he would not be living as a normal being. We cannot deny the fact that he constantly needs to be heavily dependent on medical aid. And the only purpose in life or rather hope, is to be free from health problems and lead a normal life.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I think that it is quite unfair if the children were denied a chance to live just because the parents were poor. Afterall, shouldn't all humans supposed to be equal?
I guess in this case, the parents had to do so because of their lack of money. Perhaps more help could have been given to the Bangladesh towns, since this wouldn't be the only isolated cases. In fact, there are many other children dying in the third world countries dying because of poverty.
It's just that nobody wanted to be born with two-heads, neither do anyone wants to be borned in the poor countries. Thus, that is exactly why people should be doing more to help. One way might be to set up more NGOs in the poor towns.
It is interesting to know that people in Bangladesh view abnormalities with a differently from others. It might be due to the fact of their lack of education and cultural difference. If Kiron was born in Singapore to a poor family, would the same have happened? How would it turn out differently?
I believe that the underlying reason why it is so common in India that babies are born with physical abnormalities, is that it is a Third world nation. In such a poor country, its people lack proper nutrition for healthy development.
In this situation, it happened unfortunately on baby Kiron. Only when these countries have received more education and economic stability, then these problems can be alleviated.
-DEBS TO ALL-
THANKS FOR THE COMMENTS!!!!!
I really feel sad for his parents. It's had to be a truly breaking to make such a choice.
I really feel that the child would forever live the memory of his parents and loved ones.
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