Swayamsevak Narayan Dabhadkar, an 85-year-old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member etched his name in the history books with a sacrifice that not many can muster the courage to do so. The octogenarian battling with Covid-19 and dipping oxygen saturation levels walked out of the hospital to give his bed to a 40-year old man and departed for the higher astral plane three days later.
#thread Heard a real life story that made me speechless. 85 year old @RSSorg swayamsevak for life, Narayan Dabhadkar from Nagpur caught covid. His daughter tried for days to get him a hospital bed, finally got one at Indira Gandhi hospital. By this time, his O2 levels had dropped
— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) April 26, 2021
According to a post shared by an RSS sevika, Shivani Wakhare, on Facebook, Narayan Dabhadkar contracted Covid-19 amid the second wave of the ongoing pandemic. As his SPO2 levels dropped to 60, his daughter Aasawari Kothiwan ran from pillar to post to find a bed for her father.
Among so much negativity everywhere, I found this post of Shivani Wakhare on facebook. A story that will fill your heart with warmth, compassion and so much positivity.
This is one such story of immense courage, compassion and sacrifice which will surely inspire you! pic.twitter.com/3RcGSuWwSd
— Rahul Kaushik (Modi Ka Parivar) (@kaushkrahul) April 26, 2021
Ultimately, she was able to reserve a bed in the Indira Gandhi hospital where Dabhadkar was rushed to by his grandson-in-law. However, upon reaching the hospital, Dabhadkar started gasping for breath as his situation worsened. As the two waited for the hospital formalities to be completed, Dabhadkar saw a woman in her 40’s along with her children crying and begging the hospital authorities for a bed to admit her husband who was in a critical condition.
Dabhadkar kaka, as he was affectionately called, then decided to give up his bed so that a much younger person’s life could be saved, said the kin. He then made his grandson-in-law call his daughter to tell her his decision. Perplexed by this, she hesitantly agreed with him after a while.
Dabhadkar kaka immediately signed a consent form saying he was forfeiting his bed for the young man and asked his grandson-in-law to take him back home, where he died three days later.
According to a TOI report, Dabhadkar himself was in the casualty section and was yet to be taken inside the Covid ward. The casualty area itself is of limited capacity and can take five patients at a time. Dabhadkar could have stayed even at the casualty ward till he was shifted to the Covid ward. Even leaving the casualty ward would have eased the pressure.
“My father said he would prefer to spend his last moments with us rather than the hospital. He also told us about the young patient. ‘I have already lived my life and would rather leave it to fate instead of blocking a bed for two-three days at the cost of a younger patient’,” Dabhadkar’s daughter Aasawari Kothiwan was quoted as saying by TOI.
The sacrifice made by Swayamsevak Narayan Dabhadkar manifests the virtues and beliefs instilled by RSS and how human life comes paramount for any member that has been to a shakha. While people are pitching in with monetary help and other small acts of kindness, Narayan Dabhadkar gifted his life to someone he barely knew for more than a minute. Such ‘gods amongst men’ make us believe that humanity is still well and alive in society.
