Jharna Roy hopes to continue her studies

Jharna Roy is a cheerful girl aged 16. She studies in class ten and lives in Tangail. Her father works for an NGO and had a happy family of six members. In May, 2016 she suddenly felt weakness in her lower limbs, but gradually all of her limbs below the neck became paralysed.  Her parents took her to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital where she laid unconscious for 10 days in the ICU, the doctors could not diagnose her disease, but after she regained consciousness,  she was taken back home where she stayed for 4 months without any treatment, as a result, she had a pressure sore on her back. She was then taken to the National Institute of Neuro-Sciences and Hospital, Dhaka. The doctors diagnosed her with Transverse Myelitis which is a virus infected disease. They referred her to CRP for the treatment of her sores and rehabilitation. CRP’s multidisciplinary team assessed and then operated on her.  Jharna had no muscle power, she could not even sit unaided, after 45 days of bed rest, her therapists got her into a wheelchair.  She received physiotherapy to regain her muscle power, occupational therapy for learning to perform her daily activities in a wheelchair, and counseling to face her ongoing condition. After staying for four months she can do most of her daily activities, and will soon be returning home and going to her local school, which has all the facilities she’ll need for her new life. Her therapists said Jharna’s sitting balance and upper limb strength is good but her hands are weak, she needs support for some tasks, but her condition may improve over time.