Real life ‘Pa’ awaits help in Allahabad village
My son was normal at the time of his birth. By the time he reached the age of two years, he started complaining of aches in his head, leg and body. RAMAPATI, Rupesh’s father
ALLAHABAD : Superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s role of a progeria patient in the 2009 Hindi film ‘Pa’ was widely appreciated.
Almost eight years later, a 21-year-old youth is still awaiting adequate assistance to cope with this rare and rapid, ageing genetic disease, which has c rippled him since childhood, in an Allahabad village. The disease has been considered fatal for long, but clinical trials in the United States a few years ago showed encouraging results wherein some symptom s of progeria were reversed.
Rupesh, a progeria patient, lives with his parents in Dharecha village at Hanumanganj in the district where he is being taken care of by a local doctor who also runs a non-government organisation.
Rupesh’s father Ramapati, a small farmer, said that his son was normal at the time of his birth. By the time he reached the age of two years, he started complaining of aches in his head, leg and body.
The family visited several doctors but none of them could diagnose the ailment. They gave him painkillers, which gave him relief for a few hours only.
As Rupesh grew older, his head became bigger and his body shriveled up. At 21, Rupesh looks like an old man. Some years back, a circus group approached Ramapati, offering a hefty cash payment if he allowed them to take Rupesh with them.
They wanted to show him as a bizarre creature and earn money. Ramapati turned down the offer. Rupesh’s mother Shanti Devi said Rupesh was no longer capable of doing anything on his own.
He even needed help in taking meals and going to the toilet. “I look after him 24 hours,” she said. “We wrote to several leaders for assistance but to no avail,” Shanti Devi complained.
Dr Girsih Pandey, who runs an NGO in the area, is helping Rupesh’s family look after him. Dr Pandey said the chief medical officer’s office had certified that the youth was suffering from progeria.
He also said he had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for assistance, but had not received any response yet.