VADODARA: Tuesday was a night of horror for the
Parmar family, a journey that began with their unsuccessful battle for a vacant hospital bed for the head of the family till finally losing him in the race with destiny on the road — all within a couple of hours only. The car journey to the GMERS Hospital proved to be the final journey for retired PSU personnel Vinu Parmar, 66, who had tested positive of Covid-19, and was placed under home quarantine.
The Panchwati resident had complained of breathlessness on Tuesday night and died hunting for a bed with oxygen.
After all private hospital nearby denied having a vacant bed, the family approached former corporator Rajesh Ayre who asked them to rush to the GMERS Hospital at Gotri. The family was taking Parmar in a car to GMERS Hospital for admission, but he succumbed to the virus inside the car before he could reach the hospital.
“The family had been calling up hospitals and was not able to find a bed. I told them that they should rush to the GMERS Hospital at the earliest,” said Ayre.
According to Parmar’s son-in-law Jignesh Kapadia, Parmar had been sick for three days. “I was in the office on Tuesday night when this happened and the family had to seek Ayre’s help,” said Kapadia. Parmar is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters, who are married.
Ayre said that the family left with Parmar in a small car to go to the GMERS Hospital. “But when they were on their way, Parmar breathed his last. They informed me about the situation and I asked them to stop at Jhansi Ki Rani Circle near my home. I confirmed that the man had died and we started the procedure of wrapping the body as per the protocol and taking it for cremation,” said Ayre.
The former corporator said that the victim was a retired employee of a public sector unit and his son had also tested positive for Covid-19. NGOs floated by Ayre and like-minded people have come together to arrange for the last rites of Covid-19 victims. The volunteers of this initiative took care of the Parmar’s last rites.