For four years, Ripon Marjit, now 11, stayed mostly indoors, shunned by his friends and neighbours.
Since his first episode of loss of consciousness four years ago, when he was around seven years old while at school, the episodes recurred with increasing frequency limiting his physical activities and affected his education.
Early this month, the child was detected with a complete heart blockage, which had led to the frequent episodes of blackouts that remained undetected.
On July 9, he walked out of a city hospital with a pacemaker, all smiles, carrying a poster of his favourite football player, Cristiano Ronaldo.
“We went to doctors in Rampurhat and Kolkata. Nobody could tell us what was wrong with him,” said his elder brother Gopon. “He could not run or even walk fast. He would start panting and then he started losing consciousness. There were no signs that would help him or us to prepare for any such episode.”
Gopon, a farm-hand, and his younger brother live with their mother in Hasuntir Matha, a small village, about 40 minutes away from the nearest town Rampurhat in Birbhum. The boys had lost their father seven years ago in an accident.
Rife with superstition, neighbours in the village suggested the child was “possessed” and even got traditional healers to carry out exorcism. Nothing helped the boy.
“When he first walked into my chamber last month he told me, ‘daktarbabu, amaar ekta samasya aachhe. Amake thik kore din (Doctor, I have a problem. Please cure me,” said Soumya Kanti Dutta, interventional and paediatric cardiologist at the Manipal Hospital, in south Kolkata’s Dhakuria.
No anomaly in his cardiac health was detected at the first echocardiogram performed at the hospital. He was sent home with a pulse oximeter. The process of monitoring the oximeter was explained to the boy and his elder brother.
Continuous monitoring of the pulse oximeter reading revealed Ripon’s oxygen saturation would at times drop to 30-35.
Once a cardiac anomaly was detected the boy went through repeat ECGs at the hospital which confirmed a complete heart blockage. The family members were initially reluctant for the procedure to get the pacemaker implant. Cost was one of the factors.
“We were told that the procedure was covered under the Swasthya Sathi scheme. Now my brother is absolutely fine,” said Ripon.
Compared to adults, paediatric veins are small and the heart is not fully grown making the process complicated. Young Ripon was operated on July 7 and the procedure lasted for around 40 minutes.
“Though rare, such incidents among children are not uncommon. In recent times, we have got six more such children,” Dutta said. “There are lots of myths. With the pacemaker, a child can lead a normal life, attend school, play, use cell phones.”
Ripon will be in Kolkata on Wednesday for a follow-up. He is still at home. After the visit to the doctor, his mother and brother will decide when he will get back to school.