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10 months, 1 whisper of ‘Aai’: A mother’s wait ends as daughter recovers from depressive disorder at Pune’s Sassoon Hospital

A 16-year-old girl, confined to a feeding tube for several months, has found a "miracle" recovery at Pune's Sassoon Hospital.

5 min readUpdated: Feb 21, 2026 05:59 PM IST

The girl was discharge from the BJMC and Sassoon General Hospital's psychiatric department on February 21 (Express photo).

The sound of `Aai’ (mother) was like music to her ears when her 16-year-old daughter whispered after ten agonising months of silence. At B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital’s psychiatry ward, the mother pinched herself yet again that her daughter, diagnosed with depressive stupor, a rare manifestation of mental illness in children often triggered by domestic trauma, was now on a definite path to recovery.

The woman who hails from a village in the Satara district recalled that her daughter had stopped eating altogether. “She had completed her seventh-grade examinations and would play with her younger sisters and help me with household chores,” said the woman, who works as a daily wage labourer.

“My husband is an alcoholic, and after his drinks, he would fight with me. Almost a year ago, he even beat my mother and father and hit me. My daughters witnessed all these quarrels, and a few days after that ugly fight, my daughter developed a fever. After her recovery, she stopped speaking and avoided talking to her friends. But soon I noticed that her movements were very slow and was horrified to find that she could no longer walk. She was confined to her bed and even stopped eating and drinking. We had to force-feed her,” the woman recalled.

The woman and her 60-year-old father, who is also a daily wage labourer, took the girl to a private hospital where blood tests and other investigations ruled out any infections or major illnesses. However, since she had stopped eating and drinking, intravenous fluids had to be administered.

“When there was no improvement, doctors referred her to other specialists, but no diagnosis could be established,” she said.

“I was shattered. My once-healthy daughter did not walk, move or open her eyes. My husband continued with his constant quarrels and even refused to spend money on her treatment,” she said and returned to her parental home.

A diagnosis finally

“Medical expenses were increasing, and my parents had to sell their jewellery. Doctors eventually advised consultation with a psychiatrist. Psychiatric treatment was initiated, but even then, no significant improvement was seen. Since my daughter had stopped eating orally, a feeding tube was inserted through her nose, and we would feed her liquid food through the tube,” she said.

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Losing hope that she would recover after multiple visits to Ahilyanagar and Thane, the family decided to avail treatment from Sassoon General Hospital. The girl had to be brought on a stretcher as her physical condition was extremely poor, and she was severely weak. At Sassoon Hospital’s medicine ward, investigations, including a CT scan, X-ray, and ultrasound, ruled out any major disorder.

“That was when she was referred to the psychiatry department for further management,” said Dr Nishikant Thorat, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital.

She was diagnosed with depression with stupor. “This is a rare severe complication of major depression characterised by profound immobility, mutism (complete lack of speech) and reduced responsiveness. It is relatively uncommon,” Dr Thorat said.

Currently, there are 30 patients in the ward and daily at the OPD there are 150 patients availng treatment for various psychiatric illnesses across all age groups, Dr Thorat added. He also said that 20-25 children are brought to OPD for psychological assessment daily.

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In the girl’s case, doctors suggested that it could have been triggered due to the interpersonal conflicts and constant fights between the parents. Antidepressants and electroconvulsive therapy helped in her case.

“Initially, she showed no response; however, after appropriate psychiatric treatment was started, gradual changes began to appear. On the tenth day of treatment, she slowly opened her eyes and began turning to one side. Over the next few days, she started changing her posture by herself,” Dr Thorat said. The girl was discharged from the hospital Thursday.

For the woman and her family, it has been a long, tumultuous journey to understand what was troubling their daughter. The girl resumed oral feeding and started walking with her mother’s support. For the mother, her daughter’s recovery was nothing short of a miracle.

“I will be grateful to the doctors here,” she said, and recalled that the girl breathed a sigh of relief when she did not see her father at the ward.

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“Then she looked at my neck and said, ‘aai, te mangalsutra kadun tev (please put aside that mangalsutra)’.”

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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