“It was when we came to Bangalore that the doctor finally was able to tell us what was wrong with our baby. The white matter in her brain has become black and only with a bone marrow transplant can this condition be stopped from killing her. We sold everything we had and after five months, we still haven't been able to save her. We are helpless.” – Abhijit, Baby Rani’s father

The last five months have been the most difficult for these parents

When Baby Rani fell sick five months back, her parents Abhijit and Somashree first went from their village Gopalpur to Kolkata to get her treated. There they were advised to come to Bangalore. In Bangalore, it took two more months for them to finally get a diagnosis. Baby Rani has Leukodystrophy – a condition where the white matter in the brain gets damaged, eventually leading to death. The only way to halt the progress of the condition is getting a bone-marrow transplant (BMT).

“It all started when the baby developed pneumonia. She became very weak and wouldn’t stop crying even after treatment. Her skin started stretching and she sometimes has seizures. Every where we took her, they would take her blood for tests without any results. It was only when we got a special MRI in Bangalore, that her illness was caught.” – Abhijit

Abhijit is a farmer in Bengal who has sold his land to save his child

“From when it all began, we might have spent close to Rs 6 lakhs. I sold whatever land I had and now work on other’s land to earn some money. I don’t know about our future or even how I will pay back what I have borrowed, but she is my only child and I have to do whatever I can to save her.”  – Abhijit

While Somashree is taking care of the baby, Abhijit works and earns as much as possible in Gopalpur and travels frequently to Bangalore. His yearly income is Rs 50,000 when there are no floods or drought. He is now faced with the daunting task of arranging Rs 40 lakhs for a BMT just to make sure his baby does not succumb to her condition.

Abhijit wants to save his child but does not know how to arrange for funds

“You must know about farmers. We often end up not earning anything because our crops are destroyed. In desperation many borrow and end up committing suicide when they don’t earn anything again. And now, God has sent this terrible illness as well into our lives to cope with. We don’t know what to do.” – Abhijit

Baby Rani will continue to lose more white matter till her BMT is done. Her foot is permanently bent and the doctors are not certain she can walk again. She is also vulnerable to seizures. She needs immediate treatment.