Thane family struggling to cope after losing their son to COVID-19

A minor toothache can devolve into unbearable pain was Dr Akshay Thakurrsquos justification for visiting his dental clinic at Ulwe during the initial days of the coronavirus outbreak last year His parents would grudgingly agree But the doctorrsquos commitment towards his patients cost him and his family dearlyDr Akshay ThakurThe 29yearold Thane resident succumbed to COVID las July His parents are yet to come to terms with the fact that they could not get a final glimpse of Akshay as they too had tested positive at the time ldquoWe are physically alive but mentally we are exhausted We have requested our relatives and friends not to visit us at least for the next couple of yearsrdquo his father Dipak who lives in Thanersquos Upvan area He said their only solace at the moment is their daughterrsquos fiveyearold son KaivalyaAkshay is among the 700plus doctors who died across the country of COVIDldquoAai I am fine now I will be discharged in the next two daysrdquo were Akshayrsquos last words to his mother Pratibha who too was admitted at the same hospital in Navi Mumbai on July 2 2020 But he started sinking on July 5 and passed away in a few hours With no source of income Dipak and Pratibha 56 are now staring at a huge financial crisis Of the R14 lakh that they had spent on their treatment they still have a debt of Rs 8 lakhldquoAll my retirement funds were used for Akshayrsquos dental education I do not have any pension Akshay was to get married in a few weeks We were looking forward to settling with our future daughterinlaw a lawyer We even sold the jewellery that we had bought for her to foot the hospital billsrdquo said Dipak They are yet to clear the EMIs that have piled up against a dental chair bought by AkshayDipak with their daughterrsquos son Kaivalya 5 PicSameer MarkandeSoon after his sonrsquos death Dipak suffered a heart attack while Pratibharsquos health went on a slide He then began visiting government offices hoping to receive the R50 lakh compensation that the government pays to the kin of departed COVID warriors Akshay did not have any health coverldquoInitially even the staff at Thane collectorrsquos office sympathised with me But nobody at government offices had a clue about the insurance scheme After writing to state and central officials I recently received a reply saying that it is applicable only to government staffers No doctorsrsquo association came forward to help eitherrdquo said Dipak adding that his daughter is a school teacher and earns a mere Rs 8000 a monthAll hopes dashed Dipak said he will take up a parttime job to fund his and Pratibharsquos sustenanceldquoMy wife is still to come out of the shock We pray to God that aged parents should never go through the grief of losing their child everrdquo