The medical student who received her degree in the ICU
In 2007, when Samidha Khandare left her home in Murtizapur, Akola, for Mumbai, the 18-year-old thought she was inching one step closer to her ultimate goal -- that of becoming a "good doctor".
A topper all through school and college, she realised the lack of proper medical facilities in her hometown early on and had always wanted to pursue medicine.
Hardworking and the go-getter that she was, Khandare told friends that she would complete her medical education and return to Akola, so that she could set up her practice there.
Friends and faculty at the Lokmanya Tilak Medical College in Sion, Mumbai, remember her as a "bright and cheerful student who never had a dull moment" in the five years that she spent there.
While pursuing a medical internship post her term-end exams in November 2012, however, Khandare fell victim to a fatal form of tuberculosis that doctors initially diagnosed as malaria and later dismissed as 'just another occupational hazard'.
Over the next two months, even as she suffered frequent headaches and bouts of fever, the plucky girl continued to work hard for her upcoming post-graduation entrance exam, unaware of the risk to her life that lurked around the corner.
In January 2013, when her fever and coughing did not subside, Khandare was finally diagnosed with miliary tuberculosis, a fatal health condition that affected the functioning of her lungs and liver due to poor immunity.
She was immediately admitted to the medical intensive care unit of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Hospital in Sion, Mumbai and her parents were called to attend to her.
Since this was the first time she'd ever been hospitalised, mother Jayashree, an Anganwadi teacher, broke into hysterics when she saw her girl in the medical ward. "Aunty was inconsolable and constantly worried about her daughter," recalls a friend and fellow student who was present at the time.
But Khandare emerged a true fighter. "She would smile and tell us to remain positive. My daughter was confident that she'd be cured and everything would be back to normal," recollects her father Avadhoot Khandare, also a teacher with Bhartiya Dnyanpeeth in Murtizapur.
On February 20, 2013, while the rest of her classmates received their convocation degrees in the college auditorium, Khandare sat listless in the medical ward, receiving her treatment and trying hard to hide her disappointment.
Much to her surprise and excitement however, Dr Suleiman Merchant, who was dean of the college at the time, came to visit her that day. Not only did he present her with her convocation degree in the medical ward, he also encouraged her to keep up the fight.
The day was special for both Khandare and her family, as it well may have been the first time that a medical student had received such an honour in a hospital ward.
"She was very happy and excited," shares her father. "She did not expect it at all."
When contacted, Dr Merchant was all praise for her. "It wasn't her fault that she was ill on the day of her convocation. She had worked hard through her graduation and cleared all her exams. She deserved to be appreciated," he said.
To Mr Khandare's recollection, the day of convocation was probably his daughter's last bright moment.
Today, she is comatose and undergoing expensive treatment in a bid to save her life at PD Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre in Mahim, Mumbai.
Samidha Khandare's medical treatment is expected to cost between Rs 12 and 15 lakhs .
If you wish to provide financial aid, please find the family's bank account details below:
Shekhar Khandare (Brother)
SBI A/c No: 30635109481
IFSC Code: SBIN0000528
MICR: 4440002759
Ph: +91 8550986969
Avadhoot M Khandare (Father)
SBI A/c No: 11576831041
Phone number: +91 9970389204
