No, this is not an excerpt from a SR (Satyajit Ray) plot. It is a real life SE story featuring Prof. Bhattacharyya. He is a man far beyond his erudition and great eminence. Comfortable living by himself in his South Kolkata home, the hero in our story manages tricky medical conditions, while still serving as honorary President of the Indian Centre for Space Physics (ICSP).

Beginning of June, however, things turned a trifle uncomfortable because he had breathing difficulties and suspected some nerve problem. Support Elders was, of course, right beside him and, as advised by his doctor, got him admitted to a well-known hospital in South Kolkata for a checkup. There were worrying issues: a nerve problem, a lung infection and the MRI scan also showed clots in the brain. Not a good position for someone with no relatives in Kolkata and just a few students. Or did this really matter?

Support Elders became the family that he needed, stayed with him right through the hospital stay and kept in touch with the doctors and hospital, managed all tests and report collections, ensured that all medications were available and kept his relatives posted. He even discussed the expenses of treatment with the Indian Centre for Space Physics, which took care of substantial costs.

Support Elders is happy to talk to him and his doctor every day, keeping both informed and keeping the relatives posted about developments.

Support Elders Impact: We give our heart to care for elders

A day after Amphan ravaged the city, drinking water that had been stored by our member, Ms Banerjee, fast depleted and soon she was left without drinking water as there was power outage in her area. As soon as her daughter called up the Support Elders NAC, our staff immediately called up Ms Banerjee and assured her that any essential item that she required would be arranged. Our staff member went off to procure drinking water, but all nearby general stores and medicine shops were out of stock. Finally, our staff managed to get 8 litres of water from a medicine shop in a narrow alley. But that was only half the battle won. It was even more challenging for him to reach the water to Ms Banerjee, as uprooted trees, electric poles, and torn or dangling wires blocked the road to Ms Banerjee’s residence. Not one to give up, he managed to reach Ms Banerjee’s residence after an hour through narrow bylanes. On reaching, he found that there was no water for other uses as well. He immediately arranged for another 40 litres of water.

Support Elders Impact: We give our heart to care for elders

As Amphan raged across the city, it caused widespread damage in different parts of Kolkata. Particularly so, for our member, Ms Ghosh, residing in South Kolkata. It was quite a terrifying time for her, as it blew away her entire verandah window, leaving a million pieces of broken glass! The ferocity of the wind and the lashing rain, which flooded her entire verandah, was no less than a nightmare. Knowing that she wouldn’t get any carpenter to repair it, due to Covid-19 restrictions, she called up one of our Member Care Associates for assistance. Immediately our staff set off to look for a carpenter. After a long search, he finally managed to get a carpenter, who agreed to take up the task provided he was dropped home, as most of the roads were blocked by uprooted trees and broken electricity poles and streetlights. On reaching the member’s house, the Member Care Associate and the carpenter went out again to buy the required material. Thankfully, they were able to get the required material. After the job was done satisfactorily and the window was working fine, the Member Care Associate dropped the carpenter home as promised. Ms Ghosh was most relieved that the job had been done so efficiently and promptly.

Support Elders Impact: We give our heart to care for elders

On 21st morning, the day after cyclone Amphan hit Kolkata, when the entire city was trying to cope with the disaster, our member, Ms Chatterjee, faced another crisis at home. Her husband had pulled out his feeding tube in the morning and she was unable to feed him. Somehow, she managed to call her home physician but needed to arrange for a new feeding tube. She called the Support Elders NAC for assistance. Our NAC immediately contacted one of our staff and requested him to look into the matter. Our staff called Ms Chatterjee and requested her to click a picture of the feeding tube and whatsApp it to him and asked her for details regarding the size, etc. With most shops being closed either due to the lockdown or waterlogging or uprooted trees blocking the way, our staff finally managed to procure one from a far-off store. After reaching Ms Chatterjee’s residence, he made sure that the doctor could insert it and Mr Chatterjee was able to take food through it before leaving.

Support Elders Impact: We give our heart to care for elders