Coronavirus: Kerala man rides 150km to deliver medicines to 4-year-old cancer patient, amid India's COVID-19 lockdown

Not all super heroes wear capes, some ride a bike. KP Vishnu, a medical sergeant in the Indian state of Kerala, is being hailed as a "superhero" on social media after he rode over 150 km on his bike to deliver medicines to a 4-year-old cancer patient on March 31, amid the country-wide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to various reports on Indian news websites, the four-year-old girl girl lives in Kerala's Alappuzha district and makes a monthly trip to the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital, for chemotherapy.

Every month, she is taken to the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, all the way from her hometown of Alappuzha, to undergo chemotherapy sessions. But with a nationwide lockdown imposed in March, not only did the hospital cancel the child's session, her family ran out of medicines as they could not travel to purchase it.

According to a report on Indian news website, The News Minute: "Help came in the form of a police officer and his neighbour. They went out of their way to ensure she got her life-saving medicines in time."

The girl's family contacted Antony Ratheesh, a civil police officer, to assist with getting the medicines from the Trivandrum Regional Cancer Centre as the medicines were not available in her district after their stock exhausted.

According the report, Ratheesh said: “I have known this family for a few months now. On March 30, her mother called and told me that her daughter’s chemotherapy had been cancelled and that the doctor had asked them to continue taking the medicines. The family had just about enough medicine stock to last till the scheduled session. And now, they could not find the drug anywhere in Alappuzha and did not have the money to take a cab to Thiruvananthapuram.”

Wondering how to help them, Ratheesh reached out to his neighbour Vishnu, who worked at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. “He said he could purchase the medicine from Regional Cancer Center and deliver it till Kollam district. But the very next morning, he changed his mind," said Ratheesh.

“I don’t think he slept that night. Vishnu rode 150 kilometres, all the way to the family's doorstep and delivered the medicines,” Ratheesh added

The 32-year-old sergeant, who is a former police officer, stayed back for a day in Alappuzha after delivering the medicines. He left for Thiruvananthapuram only on the next day.

Many social media users in Indian shared the news story. Facebook user Saju Kesari posted: "Appreciate your timely act, kindness and support for good cause. Humanity always will win, doesn't see any situation."

And, @IraniDarayas posted on Twitter: "Salute the Hero! Man of the moment...man in the times of COVID19! #KPVISHNU of Kerala! You make India Proud and Mother India loves her good son!"

Have you seen any such acts of kindness during the time of coronavirus? Share with us on readers@gulfnews.com.