Big-hearted Pune youngsters at doorsteps of Covid-19 patients with O2 cylinders for free

In April, a 68-year-old Covid-19 positive patient, who also suffered from kidney failure, suddenly found her blood oxygen level dropping to a dangerous 50 per cent around midnight. Her family called up several hospitals but could not get a bed for her.

“It was then one of my friends gave a cell phone number of an organisation which provides free medical oxygen cylinders right at the residence of patients. I called them up and in no time, the oxygen cylinder was at our doorstep,” recalled Dilip Malik, a resident of Lohegaon.

The youths, who came with the oxygen cylinder, themselves put the patient on oxygen support. “Within minutes, my mother’s oxygen level went up to 95 per cent,” said Malik. She was later taken to Command Hospital the next morning.

Similarly, Somnath Tambe, a resident of Wagholi, said his mother was a heart and asthma patient. “She was detected COVID-19 positive. She recovered and was discharged from the hospital after 15 days. At home, we provided her with the oxygen cylinder.

“We used to get oxygen cylinders for her at our home from a private party. However, one day the cylinder ran out of oxygen. Despite our best efforts, we could not find oxygen cylinders anywhere in the city throughout the day. My mother’s condition was worsening by the minute. It was then someone gave me a number of this particular organisation. I contacted them and got a cylinder from them. I must say that had they not provided me a cylinder, we would have faced a tragedy,” he said.

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Be it Covid-19 positive patients isolated at home or post-Covid patients recuperating at home, a clutch of Puneites, working under the banner of Buddhojirao Mulik Foundation, are rushing forth with oxygen cylinders to help them breathe easy. The youngsters claim that they have reached out to at least 50 patients in distress in less than a month.

“And we have attended to at least 20 emergency cases,” says Prashant Jagtap who is leading a bunch of youths putting their best foot forward during these difficult times when patients and their families are clueless as to how to get an oxygen bed.

But, how did the idea come about? Jagtap says for a while they were thinking about doing something for Covid-19 patients in Pune who are struggling to find an oxygen bed. It was then the idea struck of purchasing medical oxygen cylinders.

The youths then purchased 36 cylinders, some of them were 7 kilo ones, each costing Rs 18,000. So, where did the money come from? “From my brother, Sourabh’s marriage … ,” says Jagtap. “It means … We were planning to spend over Rs 3 lakh for his marriage. Instead, we decided to use the money for purchasing the oxygen cylinders and reaching out to the patients in distress,” he said.

Jagtap said the Foundation has a bunch of youngsters who have undergone training to fix the cylinders at the patient’s home and explain to them how to make its judicious use.

The Foundation works 24×7. “We provide oxygen cylinders right at the doorsteps of the patient. The families of the patients need not search and rush to us. I provide my own car to carry the cylinders. Sometimes, we carry them in autorickshaws or other vehicles. These patients need not pay even a single paisa. We believe in these difficult days we are duty-bound to reach out to maximum patients as much as possible,” he said.

Some of their other key members include Avinash Pothwade, Viswajit, Potekar, Dattatray Jadhav Jagtap says they have so far reached out to patients in PMC, PCMC areas as well as in rural parts of the district. “We get calls at odd hours, but we don’t mind reaching out to them if we can save their lives,” he said, adding that they will keep working for patients till the pandemic gets over.