The man I love is in a coma and here’s how I am dealing with it.

Abhishek responds to me by flicking his eyelashes or moving his eyeballs. On good days, he can move his hands a bit. But for the rest of the day, he lies in bed, motionless.

It’s been two months since my boyfriend has been in a state of coma.

I miss the times when he would hold my hand or give me a hug, and make me feel like there are no worries in the world. We could chit chat for hours, without realizing how quickly time would pass. But today, all my conversations are one-sided. I am not sure how much of it gets to him.

A scooter ride is all it took.

Each morning, I would call up Abhishek, during his return from his night shift at the call center. He would travel on his colleague’s scooter. He was undergoing his training for NCC (National Cadet Corps ) in Delhi, and had taken up a part-time call-centre job. His shift used to end in the early hours of the morning. And I would wait to hear his voice and know all about his day.

On the morning of March 10, I made my routine call, expecting a sleepy Abhishek on the other side. But I was met with no response.

I tried again… And again… And again. No response. My irritation transcended into worry.

And after what seemed like eternity, I got a call saying, “Abhishek has met with an accident. He was coming home on the scooter with his colleague when the vehicle skidded. He has injured his head severely.”

It took me a few minutes to gather myself and take in the news.

I rushed to the hospital that Abhishek was taken to. I will never forget the sight I saw; there he was, lying unconscious in a pool of blood. Aside from the heartbreaking state that Abhishek was in, what got to me was the treatment he was being subjected to.

Nobody was tending to him and he was made to share a bed with another patient. There was chaos all around, and I could see Abhishek’s health deteriorating. That’s when I and some of his friends decided to shift him to another hospital.

Here, doctors informed us about Abhishek’s critical state and that he would require two brain surgeries. The same would require Rs. 10 lakh. Neither Abhishek’s parents nor I and his friends had that kind of money.

But we didn’t give up hope. Each of us contributed some amount that added up to a lakh and was enough to fund for Abhishek’s initial medical bills. However, we still had Rs. 10 lakh to gather.

Two close friends of mine, Vishal Belwal and Navprabhat Rawat, informed me about crowdfunding and how we could raise funds for Abhishek’s treatment. We got to the task right away. After creating the fundraiser, we tackled social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and promoted Abhishek’s fundraiser extensively.

Our strategy worked and we managed to raise 8.5 lakh overnight.

I was overwhelmed to see so many people coming together to help us. Aside from Abhishek’s friends and relatives extending their support to us, there were complete strangers coming to our aid. From youngsters, to the middle-aged to the elderly; people from all ages and walks of life joined our quest to save Abhishek.

I had always heard about the power of unity. Never did I imagine that there would come a time when I would experience it.

With the funds collected, we were able to get Abhishek’s second surgery done. But there’s still a long way to go for his complete recovery.

Abhishek has been discharged and brought home, but continues to be in a state of coma. I have put him up in a room, in a building next to mine. His mother and sister have come down from Uttarakhand to be by his side.

My life revolves around him.

Each morning, before setting off for work, I go and check on Abhishek. I give him his medicines and sit by his side for a while. I don’t want him to feel like he is alone. After work, I visit him again.

It is difficult to focus on anything else… I keep praying for Abhishek.

Every minute of every day, I pray that my love would wake up from his coma and call out my name. We have practically grown up together. He would often come home and eat with me and my family. I would be welcomed with open arms by his. I have known him since school from our days in Uttarakhand together and it was a friendship that transcended into a beautiful romance.

I have been in Delhi since the past 5 years and Abhishek moved here last year. We had built a small life of our own in this big city.

It’s been 6 years that we have been together. We were beginning to talk about settling down and shaping a future together. And I am hoping that we would still get to do that and soon.

I put up a brave face in front of Abhishek’s parents. But when I am alone, I often breakdown. But, I know Abhishek and I know we will make it through this too.

I thank all those who helped, from the bottom of my heart. Without your contributions, Abhishek wouldn’t be next to me today.

Thank you. If you want to know more about his story, check out his fundraiser here.

As told to Rukmini Chopra by Kavya Badola.

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