Sunday Times 2
Child with a psychological disorder: Desperate parents seek help
View(s):Life turned into a nightmare for Chandrasiri Silva, a poor cultivator, when his school-going son fell ill. The 14-year-old boy became increasingly restless and showed signs of a psychological disorder.
The panic-stricken parents took the child to hospital and doctors diagnosed his condition as ‘depression’. That was way back in 2016, and since then, it has been agony as the boy’s condition worsened with bouts of aggressive behaviour.
“We have taken the child to the Karapitiya and Nagoda hospitals, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), in addition to consulting a psychiatrist at a private medical facility, but there’s no improvement in the patient’s condition”, the father said.
Every time the patient was admitted to the NIMH, they called us after a few days asking us to take him back home despite no improvement in his condition, he asserted. “If there’s long-term treatment there, I believe a positive outcome could be expected, but that doesn’t happen”.
“We have to take the patient for medical treatment in a hired vehicle and it costs a lot of money, which we can no longer afford”, he said.
He said the family has now been reduced to penury with their savings exhausted on medical and travel expenses. “I can no longer do any cultivation due to commitments towards looking after the boy, coupled with the mental state I am in. We have nobody to turn to for help in this hour of need”.
As the desperate family needs financial assistance, those willing to help can credit A/c No. 78915910, Bank of Ceylon, Pelawatte (via Matugama) in favour of Y. P. Chandrasiri Silva. He can be contacted on 0704867416.