Jhalokathi, Sept 16 (V7N) – An 88-year-old man and his 75-year-old wife lie bedridden in a small home in Nij Galua village of Rajapur upazila in Jhalokathi, unable to afford the medicines and treatment they need.

The elderly couple have been suffering from severe health problems for years. The husband has been paralysed since suffering a stroke about four and a half years ago, while his wife has been unable to speak or move properly for nearly a year after falling seriously ill.

For nearly two years, their regular medication has reportedly remained discontinued because of a lack of money. Food is also not always available in the household.

Their widowed daughter, Razia Begum, is now struggling to care for her sick parents and her two children while living in extreme financial hardship.

Her father, Muzaffar Hawladar, 88, suffered a stroke about four and a half years ago, leaving his left arm and leg paralysed. Since then, he has remained confined to bed. His physical condition has gradually deteriorated with age and prolonged illness.

However, due to financial difficulties, he has been unable to receive necessary medicines and treatment regularly for almost two years.

His wife, Nazimul Begum, 75, is also bedridden in the same room. She has been seriously ill for nearly a year, leaving her right arm and leg paralysed. She is unable to speak, sit up on her own or move from one place to another without assistance.

Unable to bear seeing her elderly parents in such a helpless condition, their eldest daughter, Razia Begum, brought them into her own household and took responsibility for their care.

Razia's husband, Abdus Sattar, died about six years ago. Since then, she has struggled to support her two children and maintain the household on her own. Her parents' worsening health has now added another major responsibility to her already difficult life.

Five people — the two bedridden elderly parents, Razia and her two children — are now living under the same roof with little financial security.

Razia struggles even to meet the family's basic food expenses, making it virtually impossible for her to pay for the medicines and treatment required by her parents. As a result, the family sometimes goes without a meal or survives on very limited food.

For Razia, the most painful part of the situation is being unable to provide medical care for her parents despite witnessing their suffering every day. Even when medicines are urgently needed, financial hardship forces them to remain without treatment for days at a time.

“After my husband died, I have been struggling to run the family with my two children. Both my parents are sick, so I brought them to live with me and take care of them,” Razia said.

“But I struggle to arrange food. How can I afford their medicines? Sometimes we have to go without food. If people could help us, I would be able to arrange food and treatment for my parents,” she added.

Local residents have appealed to financially capable individuals, elected representatives, social organisations and compassionate members of the community to come forward and support the family.

They said even modest assistance could provide crucial relief to the vulnerable household and help ensure that the elderly couple receive essential food, medicine and medical care.

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