Patiala, March 3 -- Four-year-old Guneet Kaur had never responded to a single sound due to severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. A resident of Kularan village in the Samana block of Patiala district, her life took a turn when the health minister, Dr Balbir Singh, intervened, facilitating her free cochlear implant surgery at Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital - a first-of-its-kind procedure at the institution. The family had been unable to pursue the treatment because of the high cost. "I went from one hospital to another, just hoping someone could help my daughter," Guneet's mother, Paramjeet Kaur, said. After the minister's intervention, the Rajindra hospital last week successfully conducted the surgery, formally launching its Cochlear Implant Programme. The procedure was performed by Dr Sanjeev Bhagat, head of the department of otorhinolaryngology and his team. "In the coming days, we will start her auditory-verbal therapy that will gradually help her brain interpret sounds and eventually develop speech," he said. HTC...