Christmas miracle: Widow reunited with family after missing for nine years

It was nothing less than a real Santa gift for the family members of Kamini Shekhawat name changed a 70yearold widow and a mental health patient who was missing for over nine years and was reunited with her family on ChristmasKamini was traced to the Shraddhavan Rehabilitation Centre in Nagpur where she was treated and cured She then revealed her identity and place of stay ndash over 600 kilometres from Nagpur and traced to a village in Rewa district in Madhya PradeshNot less than a miracleldquoWe had given up hope It has been over nine years since she had been missing Today the entire village is excited to see her back I will always be indebted to the doctors and social workers of Shraddhavan who not only took care of my mother but also treated her and reunited her with us It is nothing less than a miraclerdquo said her son Rakesh name changed 34 speaking to midday soon after the reunionShraddhavan Centre Nagpur is a home is dedicated only for the wandering mentally ill FILE PICSWhen asked about the circumstances that resulted in her going missing Rakesh said ldquol recall I had left the house after an argument with my mother and I told her I am going to Nagpur and would never return A few months later when I returned home I learnt that my mother left the house in search of me and had been missing since then Rewa to NagpurAccording to Dr Bharat Vatwani on July 21 2016 Kamini was rescued from the streets of Nagpur and was admitted to Mother Teresa Missionaries of Charity MOC Nagpur She was transferred to Shraddhavan Rehabilitation Centre on November 27 this year for further Treatment and rehabilitation The Psychiatric Soceity of Nagpur too suported the reunionMultiple health issuesDr Vatwani said ldquoKamini was partially blind in both eyes due to a degenerative ocular condition mildly deaf from agerelated issues and had uncontrolled diabetes She also showed behavioural changes linked to early organicity a psychiatric condition The team at Shraddhavan including doctors nurses and social workers ensured her medical and psychiatric recovery Through repeated counselling they learned she was from Rewa District Madhya Pradesh and often spoke of her son daughter and daughterinlaw expressing longing for them On December 24 Kamini was declared fit for discharge The next day head nurse Chetana Naitamkar and social worker Pinky Jena reunited her with her family Dr Vatwani said ldquoAn emotional reunion on Christmas reminds us of Godrsquos wondrous ways where darkness precedes lightrdquoSocial worker speakOn the morning of December 25 Kamini along with Chetana and Pinky arrived at Rewa railway station As their autorickshaw entered the village Kamini recognised her surroundings and identified her house near the school When the auto stopped villagers recognised her and informed her son who came rushing Overwhelmed with joy he carried his mother Kaushalya in his arms to their house Her daughters and daughterinlaw embraced her with tearful eyes grieving yet relieved Kaushalya too wept as she hugged each relative Our volunteers will stay in touch and continue providing free medications Such reunions aid recovery said ChetanaAbout the Shraddhawan NagpurShraddhawan is the brainchild of Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Dr Bharat Vatwanis Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation Dr Prakash Amte and the Psychiatric Society Nagpur which was started in Baba Amtes Ashokwan Centre in Nagpur on the auspicious day of Gudi Padwa 2024 It is dedicated only for the wandering mentally ill and all the services are provided absolutely free of charge The Centre is going great guns and in a short span of 8 months has reunited a 100 recovered wandering mentally ill roadside destitutes with their families across the length and breadth of IndiaThe centre in Nagpur shelters on an average 15 male and 15 female patients at any given time The Psychiatrists of Psychiatric Society of Nagpur come in turns to assess the patients