E-Paper
‘As a father, this is…’: Man after SC gives right to die nod to son Harish Rana
The Supreme Court's decision to allow withdrawal of son Harish Rana's medical treatment left his father Ashok feeling both pain and relief.
It was a Tuesday – Rakshabandhan, August 20, 2013 – when the phone rang at the Rana household.
Ashok Rana, then a chef with a private catering company, picked up the call. On the other end was news about his elder son, Harish Rana, who was studying civil engineering in Chandigarh.
Like many young men his age, Harish was obsessed about fitness and thought of augmenting his income – and pay his tuition fees – by entering bodybuilding competitions. Like many middle-class families, the Ranas looked forward to a bright, healthy future for their elder son.
That was not to be.
The call informed Ashok that his son had fallen from the fourth floor of his paying guest accommodation.
For the next 13 years, Harish lay in a vegetative state, completely unresponsive and bedridden, dependent on feeding tubes for nutrition and hydration. His family provided round-the-clock care, first in several hospitals and later at their 13th-floor flat in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar Extension.
As that painful journey appeared to near its end on Wednesday when the Supreme Court allowed the withdrawal of medical treatment to Harish, Ashok said his feelings were mixed. “As a father, this is extremely painful. But on humanitarian grounds, this is the best we can do for my son,” he said.
“It is just not a matter of my son, but there are many others in such a state in the country. I think it is the grace of God who guided the Supreme Court judges... I am happy that with this judgment, many others may find a way,” he said.
“On the other hand, I feel very sad. It was a Tuesday on the day of Rakshabandhan and we got the message about his fall. We reached the trauma center around 3am and came to know that he sustained head injuries and other injuries. Whatever happened thereafter, I feel that there was sewa (service) written in our karmas, and we are doing it and will continue doing it,” he added.
Also read: The case for a law on passive euthanasia
Ashok said Harish was interested in fitness and decided to take part in a competition to help his father fund his education.
“The tuition fees was ₹1 lakh and his hostel fees was about ₹ 60,000. He thought about taking part in the body show thinking he’ll win the prize money and help me. He had won two competitions and had gone for the third when this incident happened,” the father said.
The family brought Harish back to AIIMS in Delhi.
“We spent about a week in AIIMS and then shifted him to a private facility where he was admitted for 18 days. The bill reached ₹7 lakh and we were out of money. I asked the doctor just one question - will he wake up or not? They didn’t have a clear answer,” the father said.
Over the last decade, the parents took Harish to multiple hospitals in the hope he’ll get better, including a Noida hospital about five months ago. “The treatment given to him was Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) which is used to treat severe wounds and my son had sustained severe head injury, but nothing worked,” he said.
The family then decided to approach the court.
“We approached the court when we realised that our son’s condition was incurable and irreversible. Earlier, in the Common Cause vs Union of India case, the court had laid down guidelines and conditions for withdrawing medical treatment, particularly life-sustaining treatment. We only wanted these guidelines to be applied in our son’s case as well,” Ashok said.
The medical treatment took a toll on the family’s finances. Ashok said he sold his house in Delhi’s Mahavir Enclave three years ago and moved to their current Ghaziabad residence.
The family bought an adjustable hospital bed for Harish with an air mattress to ensure he did not get bed sores. “But eventually he got one, and was in extreme pain,” Ashok said.
The father thanked the top court and said the life-sustaining treatment Rana was currently receiving in the form of a PEG tube will be withdrawn, and he will be provided with appropriate palliative and comfort care. “We haven’t yet decided when we will take him to AIIMS for the procedure,” Ashok said.
