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“I didn’t even know what DMD was- until my son was diagnosed with it. Now I have read up everything I can on this disease”
Azam is a doting father to two boys- Azaan (10) and Hussain (8). He has been married to Fareeda for over ten years now. It was a small, but happy family, until the elder son Azaan fell sick.
Azaan- has been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. This is where the muscles in the body continue weakening. If left untreated, it is a life threatening disease- and children do not survive past 12 or 13 years of age.
How it all began:
Two years ago, Azam noticed something about his son. Young Azan would often not be able to get up from bed- and he would often fall down. Initially the parents assumed this was childish clumsiness, but they took him to a doctor, just to be sure. Doctors diagnosed it as calcium deficiency, and prescribed tablets.
After a while, Azam’s boss recommended that they take him to Rainbow Children’s Hospital. He felt that it had to be more than a calcium deficiency. It was here that a doctor looked at Azaan and suspected DMD.
A ‘positive’ test changed their lives:
The test to find out if a person has muscular dystrophy is a CPK test. Azaan underwent this and the results were conclusive: He had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy- the most severe kind. If untreated, this disease is most certainly fatal.
Azaan’s parents took him to various hospitals around the country. They have tried ayurvedic, allopathic, and homeopathy medicines- all in an effort to cure their son. Doctors told them that DMD cannot be cured- something that the desperate parents are fighting to prove wrong.
A treatment that could help Azaan live:
It was only recently that Azam heard of Neurogen Hospitals in Mumbai. They offer a stem cell therapy that will help Azaan recover, and potentially live a normal, healthy life.
“We just tell Azaan that he is not eating properly, that he must eat his vegetables and he will grow strong”
A family struggling to make ends meet:
Azam has spent more than Rs 4 lakhs on his son’s treatment. The medicines alone cost more than Rs 6,000 a month, and these exclude the physiotherapy expenses. The family lives in a small rented house. Azam’s salary of Rs 20,000 is barely enough to meet these expenses.
Why Should You Help?
Azam and Fareeda put on a brave face for their children. Young Azaan does not know that he is severely sick, and his parents are fighting to keep it that way. They are determined that their son beats the odds and survives.
“He will walk, he will run, he will play again. He has to!”
Help Azaan live a normal, healthy life. Contribute now to help his parents afford his treatment!
