East Bengal footballer Ansumana Kromah runs from pillar to post to get sick newborn daughter admitted

With most city hospitals busy in treating COVID-19 patients, Kolkata-based Liberian footballer Ansumana Kromah and his wife had to run from pillar to post to admit their sick new-born daughter in a medical facility. Their week-old daughter, Bindu, is better now and is under observation at a Park Street Hospital, Kromah’s wife Pooja said. [caption id=“attachment_8465181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Ansumana Kromah. I-League[/caption] Kromah, who led Peerless SC to a historic Calcutta Football League Premier Division title last year, became a father on Wednesday morning but his new-born daughter developed jaundice symptoms on Saturday. The duo took Bindu to the Shambazar Nursing Home where she was born but they refused to admit her on Sunday morning, citing non availability of beds. They then knocked on the doors of two multi-speciality private hospitals before the child was admitted at a different facility late on Sunday night after police’s intervention. “I was totally devastated. She’s our first child and the experience we went through in the middle of the night was like a nightmare. We moved around carrying my sick child in the middle of the night from one hospital to another but nobody came to our aid,” Kromah recalled in an interaction to PTI. One hospital said they only have a section for COVID-19 patients, while another said they don’t have vacant beds. “It’s very difficult for us now because of this coronavirus thing. I went to three different hospitals with my daughter and one of them made us sit for three hours before denying admission,” Kromah said. “The government must look into this, otherwise what will happen to the patients with other diseases. I’m glad she’s better now,” he added. On Monday morning, the condition of Kromah’s daughter had deteriorated. The child was in urgent need for blood transfusion but her blood group was a rare AB positive. “But doctors said there’s no need for blood transfusion now. Bilirubin count is low. They want to keep her under observation for a couple of days and then they will decide. She’s being given light treatment. She’s a bit better now,” Kromah’s wife Pooja said. Kromah had captained Peerless to the historic CFL title as for the first time since 1958 a club outside the Big Three — Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting — managed to claim the crown. Kormah was the top-scorer with 13 goals, a performance that earned him a place in East Bengal team which featured in the I-League last season.