Balammal, Madurai

Hello. My name is Balammal. I am speaking from near the AVN hospital at Vilachery. I am from Vilachery itself. The AVN hospital is two kilometres from Vilachery. For about ten years my health has been such that I have nerve weakness; my bones are very weak and my nerves are very weak. There is no treatment I have not tried. I could not lift my arm at all. That was how it was. Then, near our house, there is a lady who has worked here for fifteen years, Priya ma'am. She kept calling me, saying, sister, come there, do come, it will be good for you there. All right — half my back and this whole left shoulder were doing no work at all for me. That was the situation I was in. On the 30th of this month I joined this hospital. As soon as I did — I had already been taking medicine from this hospital two months earlier, for this leg problem, the nerve problem. At that time a Kerala doctor, Biju sir, looked after me as well as a sister born alongside me. He said, come and stay a week, certainly stay at our hospital, it will become good for you; your problem is considerable. The nerves are very weak, the bones are weak. Do come, he said to me. All right — knowing my home circumstances, I delayed coming for a while. My arm would not work at all, the left arm. By now my distress had increased. At home too it was a situation I could not speak of. But everyone said, mother, do not stay in such distress, do get treatment. On the 30th of last month I was admitted. From then on, without anything lacking at all, I was admitted wondering whether we would stay fifteen days or twenty, given the state we were in. If you ask how it is now — within one week, look, I lift my arm perfectly well. I have nothing lacking; it has become good. I told Biju sir, sir, I am very happy. I said, I am going home, sir. He said, you have no problem at all. If it has become good, then certainly go. You areonly on the next street. If you have any problem at all you can talk to me, he said. As far as I am concerned he is not a doctor, he is like a brother born alongside me. He looked after me well. At that time he said, sister, you must not let your mind weaken for any reason; courage is what is needed first. Hold to your courage, he said to me. I agreed, and they looked after me very well. Likewise the sisters and the staff nurses there all looked after me well. If you ask how — I am 53 now. At 53, I had never in my life stayed away from the children and my grandchildren like that. If you ask how it has been over the week I have been here, I have had no such worry at all; they did not let me have it. Why — because they looked after me so well that I had no thought of home at all. They look after you well. They give good treatment, there is nothing lacking. Every minute they come and ask what is needed. As for what treatment they gave me: when you first come you must either have had a Corona test or have had the Corona injection — that is what they told me. So I came having had the Corona injection. It was because I had had the Corona injection that I came here at all. Because I had come in a state where I could not lift this arm. But after coming, for two days they did the massage and gave something like a fomentation. Having given the fomentation, they then poured water mixed with all the herbs over me. With that I felt somewhat better. Then I told sir it was like this. Sir said, they will apply massage oil and rub a herbal powder in for you and it will be good. Up to now they have done that herbal powder and oil for me. Just this massage has healed me completely. There is nothing of that sort left. Come without fear and happily.