Funny how, no matter the level of despair you have been at, life never falls short of ways to beat you to your knees. In an age when my father should've been at home, free of all the responsibilities of family and kids, destiny has found a way to continue to torture him. At 64, my father Asoke is suffering from heart failure and so far, it seems improbable that he will get a fair chance at survival. Why, you ask? Because even fate does not favor those who don't have money.  

My father has always had a difficult life. Despite breaking his back all through his adult life -- sometimes working multiple low wage jobs to give his kids a life far different than the one he and my mother had, he couldn't take us out from the pangs of abject poverty. My father has been always ashamed of the fact that he couldn't give us a life that he felt we deserved. And now that he is suffering from heart troubles, he feels the pain is his punishment for letting his family down.

I am his 23-year-old son Rahul and I know how entirely unnecessary his regret is. Being a protective father that he is, he has always looked after the comforts of his family and made sure that no matter what, his kids are never in any sort of pain. He did his best, but carrying us all out of that ever-deepening pit of poverty was beyond the ability of his tired and worn out shoulders. Still, I had little complaints. I and my family (mother and one elder brother) are all farmers by profession, and we happily ate what we made. I would be lying if I said we never aspired to be more. But still, it was never a necessity before. That is until my father fell sick.

I live with my family in a small village of West Bengal. My father, mother and elder brother all work on the field. We make upto Rs. 3000 per month. My father who has suffered heart failure a few months back needs to undergo urgent heart surgery to survive. The estimated cost of entire treatment is Rs 6.3 lakhs. We have brought our father to Bangalore for his treatment and so far, whatever little saving we've had is going towards rent and managing his daily travel to and from the hospital. How then, do we arrange such a huge amount, without which my father won't live to see another day?

How can you help?
 
64-year-old Asoke is a farmer from West Bengal who needs to undergo an urgent  AICD implantation procedure. His 23-year-old son Rahul, is struggling to arrange funds for his father's surgery. Funds raised through this fundraiser will help a son save his father's life.