Over 300-km journey for treatment! 75-year-old Odisha man pulls wife on trolley-rickshaw

In a disturbing example of sacrifice, a 75-year-old man from Sambalpur district pulled a trolley-rickshaw carrying his ailing wife for over 300 kilometres to ensure her medical treatment in hospital, sources said on Friday.

Also Read: Man carries pregnant wife to hospital on pushing cart

With no money to arrange transportation, the elderly man chose sheer determination to take his paralysed wife from Sambalpur to Cuttack for advanced care.

The couple, identified as Babu Lohar and his wife Jyoti Lohar from Modipada in Sambalpur’s Golbazaar area, has been married for decades. Jyoti Lohar, aged around 70, suffered a paralytic stroke and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sambalpur.

Doctors had advised that she be shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack for better treatment, but the family lacked the financial means to hire a vehicle.

Left with no alternative, Babu Lohar placed his wife on a hand-pulled trolley and undertook the exhausting journey on foot. After treatment in Cuttack, the couple began their return journey when tragedy struck again.

Near Choudwar, an unidentified vehicle hit the trolley-rickshaw, leaving the elderly woman seriously injured. She was treated at Tangi health centre before the couple resumed their journey back to Sambalpur, once again pulling the trolley themselves.

In times often marked by neglect, the elderly couple’s struggle stands as a rare and moving example of unconditional love and sacrifice.

“We will return to Sambalpur. Bikash Sir was present (an on-duty doctor in ICU of the health facility), and he helped us a lot. He helped so much, which I cannot express in words. He also added on (financially assisted) to whatever little I had with me. May Lord Jagannath shower His blessings on him (the doctor),” Babu Lohar said to OTV, when contacted.