How a 54-yr-old street vendor got back on his feet after 8 years

LUCKNOW: Street vendor Rajendra Kumar, 54, a resident of Sidhauli in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, is as happy as only someone who has got back on his feet after eight years can be.

Kumar was unable to walk as he was suffering from Ankylosing Spondylitis, a form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine. He could not afford the treatment.

Kumar became the first person in Lucknow to undergo treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana (National Health Protection Scheme), the flagship health insurance scheme known as Modicare, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I have walked again after eight years. I was not in a position to pay ~1.5 lakh for the surgery and Ayushman Bharat came as a major relief to me. I was treated free of cost by the best of doctors,” he said after surgery at Lucknow’s King George’s Medical University (KGMU).

Dr Santosh Kumar, a surgeon at KGMU, who treated Kumar, said: “Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of arthritis which affects the spine. The patient feels pain and stiffness from the neck to lower back. Sometimes pain becomes unbearable as bones fuse together resulting in a stiff spine. It causes severe inflammation of the vertebrae that might eventually lead to chronic pain and disability. In more advanced cases, inflammation may cause formation of

I have walked again after eight years. I was not in a position to pay ~1.5 lakh for the surgery and Ayushman Bharat came as a major relief to me. RAJENDRA KUMAR, street vendor who was unable to walk as he was suffering from Ankylosing Spondylitis

new bone in the spine, leading to deformity.”

“Rajendra visited KGMU for advice in November with the golden card of Ayushman Bharat scheme. We admitted him on November 28 and conducted all medical tests before going for surgery. His left hip had to be replaced but as his financial condition was not good, he was not willing to go under the scalpel . We told him that under Ayushman Bharat Scheme his surgery is possible free of cost,” Dr Kumar said.

Kumar’s surgery was conducted on December 10.