HYDERABAD: Doctors at a hospital in Hyderabad broke through the “sound barrier” to save a newborn. In a rare case, all 11 doctors and nurses of the neonatal
ward
taught themselves sign language to communicate with a deaf-mute couple who had a child after multiple cycles of infertility treatment.
Marri Bhagyamma (47), a homemaker, and
Marri Raj Kumar
(55), a central government employee, had premature twins weighing less than a kilogram.
While the son died, leaving the couple distraught, the daughter was hospitalised for 76 days because of multiple complications.
Despite the initial communication glitches, doctors at
KIMS
,
Kondapur
, understood that this was the couple’s last chance to experience the joys of parenthood. If saving the child meant teaching themselves the language of a soundless world, so be it.
The doctors told TOI that the mother had high blood pressure during pregnancy and blood flow was insufficient in the womb. After delivery, the girl needed to be kept in observation for two months.
Dr Aparna Chandrasekaran
, clinical director of neonatology at KIMS, said: “Initially, Raj Kumar communicated with us by writing in English. But he could not come to the hospital regularly and we were talking to him via video calls. A relative who knew sign language acted as the interpreter as it was important for us to let both parents know the medical processes the baby was undergoing and the care they needed to take.”
After a while, the translator, too, was unavailable. “We felt we needed to communicate directly with both parents as they would become jittery when we would try and tell them about certain tests. These were routine tests but they often felt anxious, which is when the father offered to teach us sign language,” she said.
D Sujata, shift in-charge of the ward, said the father taught them the alphabet, the calendar and other basics quickly. “Over time, we learnt other things by communicating with both parents on a daily basis,” Sujata added.
It took about ten days for the three doctors, four junior doctors and four nurses caring for the baby to grasp sign language. “Some of our doctors and nurses were so good at understanding sign language that they taught it to other members of the team,” Aparna said.
According to Dr Arvind Lochani, consultant doctor in the neonatal unit, the priority at this juncture is maintaining the health and nutrition of the baby, things the parents “are doing well”.
The baby was discharged recently, weighing 1.8 kg, with no birth anomalies, but leaving behind an army of doctors and nurses who can tell you in sign language which supplements to take and which foods to avoid.
Bhagyamma and Marri Raj Kumar sent TOI a message affirming their “daughter is healthy”, and added, “We have the confidence that we know all procedures to look after our daughter. We are confident we will raise her to be a healthy person now.”
English (US) ·