“My Son Survived, But He Can Neither See Nor Walk”: Toxic Cough Syrup Leaves a Child’s Life in Darkness, a Father’s Pain Spills Out

“My son survived, but he returned to me without his eyesight,” says 36-year-old Tikku Yadavvanshi, his voice breaking as tears roll down his cheeks. For 116 agonizing days, his five-year-old son fought a battle between life and death after consuming a toxic cough syrup. The child lived—but at a devastating cost that has changed his family’s life forever.

The incident is part of the chilling cough syrup tragedy that shook Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara and Betul districts, claiming the lives of 26 children. Tikku’s son is among the few survivors. Today, however, the child cannot see and struggles to walk, requiring constant care and supervision.

A Life Saved, but Permanently Scarred

The tragedy unfolded in Parasia town of Chhindwara district. After being prescribed the cough syrup, the child’s condition rapidly deteriorated. What followed was a harrowing medical journey across cities and hospitals, lasting more than four months.

“My son cannot be left alone even for a moment,” Tikku says. “He cannot walk properly. How do I go to work? How do I keep my family alive while caring for him?”

The child was finally discharged from AIIMS Nagpur late Monday night after spending over three months there. Before that, he had been admitted to hospitals in Parasia and Nagpur as his condition worsened.

Crushing Financial Burden

Tikku, a former employee of a private finance company, has not received a salary for the past four months. His housing loan EMIs remain unpaid. To save his son’s life, he sold his cattle and mortgaged his wife’s jewelry. Living in Nagpur for months—paying for food, accommodation, and daily expenses—pushed the family further into debt.

“My wife, two other family members, and I stayed there together,” he recalls. “Every meal, every room, every necessity came at a cost, while our child was fighting for his life. What we endured cannot be described in words.”

No Assurance of Recovery

Doctors at AIIMS Nagpur have been unable to confirm whether the child’s eyesight will ever return. While the state government has assured financial assistance for medical expenses, Tikku says it is grossly inadequate.

“Whatever money we receive will go toward repaying loans taken for treatment,” he says. “It will not cover how we survived, how we are surviving, or what lies ahead. There is still no guarantee my son will ever fully recover.”

A Father’s Question to the State

With quiet desperation, Tikku poses a single question to the government: Who will take responsibility for my child’s future treatment?

“I have heard that Chennai has better facilities for eye treatment,” he says. “My child did nothing wrong. At least give him a chance. He escaped death—now we are just praying that one day he may see the world again. Please do not leave us alone in this fight.”

Accountability Still Distant

Following the Coldrif cough syrup tragedy, arrests have been made, suspensions ordered, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed. Pediatrician Dr. Praveen Soni, his wife Jyoti Soni, and the manufacturer—Tamil Nadu-based Shresan Pharmaceuticals—have been named as accused.

Yet for families like Tikku’s, accountability offers little comfort. Their daily struggle is no longer about justice alone, but about survival, dignity, and the hope that a child who beat death may one day reclaim a life worth living.