After over 40 days of fervent prayers and tears, Wednesday had finally brought the lost smiles back on the faces of the Goswamis when they took their spastic granddaughter Aahana back home after treatment from the MGM Hospital in Vashi. However, the homecoming was cut short as Aahana was admitted again to the Jaslok Hospital on Thursday to help her recover fully.

Five-year-old Aahana is suffering from dystonia, and her condition had worsened after her divorced mother Anandita Mishra, a Reliance employee, was murdered in October last year. She had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the MGM Hospital in December last.

Meanwhile, her grandmother Poornima Goswami (70) can neither hide her smile over Aahana’s recovery nor mask her worries about Aahana’s medical expenditure.

“The MGM Hospital was been kind enough to waive its fees that had gone up to over Rs 3 lakh. Several doctors including Dr Anahita Hedge, a pediatric neurologist, physiotherapist Dr Snehal Deshpande and Dr Shilpa Aroskar, have been treating Aahana without charging a penny. In fact, it was Dr Hedge who suggested that we admit Aahana to the Jaslok Hospital and assured us that our granddaughter would be returned to us as healthy as she was when her mother was alive,” said Goswami.

On Wednesday, Aahana’s grandparents went to meet MGM Hospital’s director Dr Nitin Kadam to express gratitude for their generosity. They also handed over cheques worth around Rs 41,000 that samaritans from across the city had offered for Aahana’s treatment. “All the cheques were addressed to the hospital. We want to repay as much expense as we can,” she said.

While Dr Kadam reassured the couple that the hospital stands by its decision to waive Aahana’s fees, he also gave credit to the pharmacy at the hospital for standing by the hospital’s decision.

“The pharmacy is an outsourced facility and when we decided to waive Aahana’s medical fees, we weren’t sure about the expenditure of the medicines. However, the pharmacy had supplied all that we required without any demands and this Rs 41,000 would be handed over to pharmacy owners,” said Dr Kadam, adding that medicine worth over Rs 78,000 have been provided for Aahana’s treatment so far. Jaslok Hospital has agreed to continue with Aahana’s treatment but has asked the family to raise funds for the medicines.

A visibly-excited Goswami had distributed sweets to the doctors, nurses and even the security personnel of the MGM Hospital. “It is all because of them that my child has been returned to me. When I briefly held her in my hands today, I could feel her cuddle up to me as a response to my touch. MGM Hospital has brought her back from death and now Jaslok promises to make her as healthy as possible. I consider these doctors no less than God who are looking after my child,” she said.