Comatose mother's children can't pay bills

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Things have been going from bad to worse for the seven children of 71-year-old Cecilia Djarwati, who is now lying in a coma in the hospital.

Not only are the family's efforts to seek justice from those responsible for their mother's condition making little progress, the seven children now find themselves unable to pay her medical bills at the Honoris Hospital, Tangerang, where Cecilia is being treated.

The unfortunate chain of events started when the family was busy preparing for the wedding of the youngest child, Katharina, which was scheduled for June 9.

Anxious to witness the ceremony, Cecilia wanted to get something done about her eyesight, which was getting worse by the day.

"When we took our mother for a cataract operation to the hospital on May 23, we thought we would only have to pay Rp 6 million for the surgery and another Rp 4 million for medicine," Cecilia's third son, Bambang Irianto, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The cataract operation never took place as Cecilia, who was still recuperating from a stroke, fell unconscious on the operating table. Doctors said she was suffering from cerebral bleeding and immediately operated to stop it.

"We were waiting outside ... We don't know what they did to our mother, but they claimed they had just started the pre- surgical procedures, including putting drops into her eyes, when she started vomiting and then fell unconscious," Bambang said.

"We didn't know what to do when the doctors rushed outside to tell us that ... the doctors had made the decision themselves."

Although she survived, Cecilia has been in a coma ever since.

Katharina's wedding was held at her mother's bedside.

As the hospital's doctors had convinced the children that their mother would have no problem with the cataract operation, the family, through their lawyers from the Jakarta Healthcare Legal Aid Institute (LBH Kesehatan), reported the doctors and the hospital to the police for negligence early in August.

"Besides reporting the hospital to the city police, we have also filed a civil suit against the hospital in the Tangerang District Court," Iskandar Sitorus of LBH Kesehatan said.

But on Aug. 16, a bill from the hospital for Rp 124 million arrived, not including tens of millions of rupiah more for medicine.

"We are not a rich family. To cover the expenses, we sold our mother's house in Cimone, Tangerang, for Rp 80 million while our eldest brother Daryanto has taken out bank loans worth more than Rp 40 million using his house as collateral," Bambang said.

The children could only make a cash down payment of Rp 64 million on the bill. After pressure from the family, the hospital at first offered a miserly 5 percent discount but later increased this to 15 percent a week later after the media got hold of the story.

Honoris Hospital spokeswoman Lily refused to answer when asked whether any relief would be extended to the family.

"The management has instructed that all questions about the patient be directed to our lawyer," she said.

The hospital's lawyer, OC Kaligis, turned out to be unavailable for comment.