Name : Aakash Laxman Dhangad; Age: 9 yrs
Father: Laxman Dhangad; Mother: Manisha; 2nd brother Roshan (7yrs); Youngest brother Amit (5yrs).
Address: Patoni Pada, Yeor Village, Dist & Taaluka: Thane
Date of bite : 21st April 2014.
Incident : Aakash is a 9 yr old boy studying in 4th Standard in a village school in Patoni Pada in the Yeor Village, Thane. His father Laxman Dhangad is a construction labourer and mother is a maid. He has two younger brothers. On 21st April 2014, Aakash along with his friends was playing in an open patch near his house. It was around noon time. The kids saw a Russell’s viper chasing a rodent. Aakash went a little too close and got bitten by the Russell’s right below the knee of his right leg. The snake later disappeared under some construction pipes.
Aakash ran up to his aunt who was babysitting the young boys. Aakash was taken to the civil hospital in Thane. He reached the hospital almost 1 hour after the bite incident. By then he was displaying severe signs of envenomation. His bite wound was continuously bleeding with progressive swelling. He developed Ptosis (involuntary drooping of eyelids) and had trouble breathing. Aakash was put on life support and administered Anti-venom. Aakash remained in the Civil Hospital for 5 days and later shifted to Sion hospital. His leg developed severe necrosis and hence he was forced to remain in the hospital for the next 2.5 months. He was later discharged and was home bound most of the next few months. Aakash’s parents spent close to Rs 80K to save his life. The growing cost of treatment made Aakash’s parents try out herbal remedies suggested by a local healer. His wound had festered and needed immediate medical attention. A local NGO by the name Nisarga Vidnyan Sanstha reported this incident to SHE and sought help for the victim. This was 10 months after the near fatal bite that Aakash had sustained.
Snakebite Healing and Education Society (SHE) helped with the treatment and Aakash underwent skin grafting surgery in March 2015. Since his wound was old and a few areas had negligible blood circulation, the healing process took another 2 months to heal.
Written by Priyanka Kadam
