* Man thanks the official by shaking hand with his new arm
* Bridegroom gets an artificial arm just in time so he could garland his bride at their wedding
These and more news-stories were the highlights of the artificial limbs camp organised by Sadhu Vaswani Mission in Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur District, this weekend, 13th & 14th March 2021.
It was sponsored by Finolex Cables and arranged by Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital, the healthcare institute of the Mission in association with Rotary International.
Sharing the experiences of the beneficiaries, an official said, “It was overwhelming to witness the joy that spreads on their face when they see a functional arm being affixed. One of the patients walked up to me and held out his left hand for a handshake. I was surprised when he said, this was the arm he lost and therefore wishes to shake hands with me. I was speechless. I held out my hand and sought his blessings.”
Of another distribution from an earlier time, the official recalled, “One of our patients was to get married the next day of the limb distribution. He came to us and said that he would use the prosthetic arm to place the varmala — a garland of fresh flowers — around his bride’s neck (a Hindu wedding ritual denoting the beginning of the wedding ceremony).”
327 patients received free customized prosthetics, the measurements of which were taken earlier.