This 15-Year-Old Is Running Out Of Time Without A Liver | Milaap
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This 15-Year-Old Is Running Out Of Time Without A Liver Transplant
  • MZ

    Created by

    Milaap Zayan Funds
  • AK

    This fundraiser will benefit

    Ashisha Kumar

    from Kochi, Kerala

"Today, Ashisha should have been planning which stream to take after passing her 10th board exams. Instead, she is bedridden, struggling to get up or even eat. Her body is swollen. Her eyes are getting yellower every day. We are scared. We don't want to lose her."
Ashisha's life is in danger due to rare side-effects from a local medicine that her mother bought in hope of helping her study well. But this 15-year-old's liver is failing rapidly now and she will not survive without a liver transplant. Her family is without any help to save her.
Anila is trying everything in her capacity to save her little sister

Even now, when she gains some energy to speak, all she does is lament about how she could not write her exams. But at this point, all we care about is saving her life. We are lower-middle class people who are never prepared for such emergencies. But we want to save her at any cost”-Anila, Ashisha’s elder sister.

Ashisha’s mother thought the medicine would help her daughter improve her memory in time for the board exams

15-year-old Ashisha’s father Kumaran and mother Thangamma are simpletons who don’t even have a high-school diploma; the former is a daily wage labourer while the latter used to work in a cover factory before Ashisha got really sick. All they wanted was Ashisha to soar heights like her sister who was a nurse.

“Amma wanted Ashisha to do very well in studies and learnt from someone known to her that a local medicine was good to develop a powerful memory and focus. Many people had been taking this medicine for long too – so my mother bought it as a loose pack from a local vendor. Little did she know that it would cause so much harm to her child”-Anila

Thangamma cannot leave her daughter's side even for a minute because she is overwhelmed with guilt

Less than 1 month after taking the medicine, Ashisha developed a high fever and itchy rashes all over her body

Everything was seemingly going well for Ashisha until one day last October, she started shivering with fever. Her whole body was burning and worse – she also got rashes all over her body that caused severe itching.



“She was itching and crying out in distress all night long. We thought some insect must have bit her and waited for it to subside. But it just got worse. We rushed her to the local paediatrician in our hometown of Kolenchery, Kerala, who gave her some medicines. Even at that point we believed that it was nothing serious”-Anila

Her family took her to many hospitals, but her disease could not be identified and her condition only got worse

This poor 15-year-old had become so weak that she refused to eat anything. Her skin had starting acquiring a yellow tinge. Tests done at different hospitals revealed that she had elevated bilirubin levels, but doctors couldn’t understand what exactly her condition was. She was even admitted to a local hospital for 14 days because she was getting weaker and weaker.

“In between all this sadness, there was one month where she did not have any problems – we thought she was okay at that point. But soon after, she got periods that lasted more than a month. She needed blood transfusions because both her haemoglobin level and platelet count had come crashing down. Later, a liver biopsy revealed that her liver had become compromised”-Anila

Doctors suspect that gold content in the medicine is what caused liver damage

“The doctors believe, after testing the medicine and Ashisha’s blood, that gold particles accumulated in bile ducts and blocked them, causing infection. Her liver is enlarged now – her tummy has become big as a result. Fluid collection is also there, but it is thankfully not infected yet. Her jaundice is still not improving with medicines. From last week, she is admitted in the hospital because she was not eating anything and her body was literally failing her. Only a liver transplant can save her, but we don’t have the money for it”-Anila



Since the three of us were employed, we used to somehow manage expenses before Ashisha got sick. But now we are surviving on father’s meagre salary. People in our town and from Ashisha’s school helped us a lot – that’s how we were able to pay Rs 6 lakhs as treatment charges till now. But we cannot make the money required for the liver transplant – never in this situation. I am ready to give a part of my liver to her. Please help us”-Anila
Anila has lost her job as a nurse in a local hospital in Kolenchery because she was on leave often due to her sister’s illness. Now, she has come forward to donate a portion of her liver. Ashisha’s mother Thangamma blames herself for what happened to Ashisha. She prays to God to save her daughter's life and take her life instead.

How you can help

Ashisha will only survive with a liver transplant. Time is running out for this 15-year-old and all she can do is  painfully watch her family struggle to save her life. Immediate support will save Ashisha's life.
     
THE ABOVE CASE IS SUPPORTED UNDER AFFORDABLE LIVER TRANSPLANT INITIATIVE:



For more information - http://www.tpaf.in


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The specifics of this case have been verified by the medical team at the concerned hospital. For any clarification on the treatment or associated costs, contact the campaign organizer or the medical team.

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