Cured of schizophrenia now, Moti takes care of other mentally ill patients

Brought to thane mental hospital at the age of 6, 45-year-old Mot continues to work in the hospital even today.

For 45-year-old Moti Chua, the Thane Mental hospital is the only home he has ever known. One of the oldest to be residing in the 65-acre lush green premises of the 1,850-bed hospital, he was admitted into the hospital in 1975 by police officials when he was a six-year-old . Today, at the age of 45, devoid of a family of his own, Moti— cured from schizophrenia— continues to live and work in the hospital.

Nobody is sure how he was named as nobody has served or lived in the hospital for such a long duration. While an attendant says Moti was christened by nurses working in the hospital in the 1970s, another medical officer believes he fashioned his own name and kept addressing himself as “Moti Chua” since childhood.

Medical officer at the hospital, Dr Anjali Deshpande, said, “He was cured 10 years ago and he has a stable mind now. But he had no family and we decided to let him stay in the hospital itself. This is his home now.”

This year, Moti collected funds for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations from visitors, staffers and doctors and donated the entire amount, Rs 1,151, to the hospital’s mandal. In the last 10 days, he has been observed fixated to a chair near the Ganpati’s idol offering ‘prasaad’ to all visitors.

Peon Ganesh Shede said, “He loves Ganpati celebrations and even participates in the decoration of the mandal, however he never saves any fund for himself. He has been collecting funds for years now.”

The several years in the hospital has taught Moti the basics of patient care. “He now looks after patients, knows which ward is where and remembers the right time of administering medicines to patients,” Shede added. While Moti knows only Marathi, he understands little Hindi. “I don’t want to go out of the hospital. I like it here,” said Moti.

According to the medical superintendent (MS) in the hospital, over 10 per cent of the current strength of 1,444 patients has been residing in the hospital for over 20 years for permanent illness. “Moti is an unusual case. Since he has lived here all his life, how can we ask him to leave?” asked Dr Rajendra Shirsath, MS at the hospital.

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However, according to experts, mentally ill patients should be given alternatives and sufficient counselling to make a decision.
Dr Harish Shetty, a psychiatrist, said, “A dedicated NGO will have to slowly counsel him and take him out of the hospital on short visits. May be then in two years or so, he will be emotionally ready to settle down on his own.”

Another psychiatrist, Dr Sandeep Dvekar, however said that such patients are prone to relapses and find it difficult to rehabilitate in the society. “In this case, since his family is not there, living alone will be a challenge. He might relapse into illness,” Dvekar said.

tabassum.barnagarwala@expressindia.com

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schizophrenia