A special Eid for a Hindu and a Muslim family

Noida: “My two kids did not celebrate Eid this time, but this child is my Eidi,” said Abdulla Khan as his neighbours Rahul and Jyoti Yadav became parents to a baby girl on Monday morning. Had Abdulla not stood by Rahul, Sunday night could have been very different for the couple.
There were two big complications. When Jyoti (22) went into labour on Sunday night, she and Rahul discovered how complex a straightforward medical process has become because of the Covid-19 pandemic. And there was the other problem, also a consequence of the pandemic – Rahul, an export company worker, had lost his job after the lockdown. He didn’t have the money to take Jyoti to the nearest private hospital.
So they got into an auto from Khoda colony in Ghaziabad around 9pm and went all the way to the district hospital in Noida. There, Rahul was struck by another of the pandemic’s complications. Khoda is a containment zone. “The nursing staff here told us since we had come from Khoda, we should go to a private hospital in Ghaziabad (Khoda is a part of Ghaziabad). I insisted that my wife was having labour pains but the nurse refused admission,” said Rahul.
Jyoti was admitted to the maternity ward after some convincing. But Rahul said he was once again told to shift her to Ghaziabad after an injection was administered to Jyoti. “The nurse also said we will have to wait till 11am for the doctor. But Jyoti was in pain and we could not wait.” Rahul said.
Abdulla was the only one among neighbours who had responded to Rahul’s call for help, and was with them the entire time at the hospital. Rahul, who is from Meerut, doesn’t know too many people in Khoda. He and Jyoti had moved there just before the lockdown.
But Abdulla, who is in his early 30s and has a motor garage in Noida Sector 16, had local contacts. He called up Aryan hospital in Khoda, and got an ambulance from there. But after admission there, Jyoti suffered heavy bleeding. She needed four units of O-positive blood. Rahul and Abdulla rushed back to Noida, this time to the blood bank in Sector 31 where both donated blood.
At 7am on Monday, Jyoti gave birth to a healthy baby girl. It was a normal delivery. Abdulla had returned home by then but was the first to get a call from Rahul. It was Eid, and Abdulla said he could not have received a better gift. He said he was seeking help from friends to pay up the hospital bill.
Asked about Jyoti being turned back, Dr Vandana Sharma, chief medical superintendent of the Noida district hospital, said patients from containment areas are usually asked to get treatment from a facility in the same area. “I was informed that the woman did not have labour pains. However, if she has delivered a baby, it will be checked. I have instructed the staff not to return any patient in need of critical care,” she said.