My name is Arun Kumar. Until a few days ago, our life was ordinary but peaceful. My younger daughter had been staying with my in-laws for a few days, enjoying her time there and calling us every evening. The last time we spoke, she was cheerful and said she would come home soon to finish her homework and help her mother cook her favourite meal. Not long after, a call from my in-laws shattered that calm. She had suddenly collapsed with seizures, and within minutes, our world turned upside down. I rushed to see my daughter, not knowing what to expect. But nothing could have prepared me for what followed.

We took her to a nearby clinic, and she was given medicines and an injection. She ate her breakfast and went to sleep peacefully, but hours later she began to convulse uncontrollably. Her body wouldn’t stop shaking… It was terrifying. We rushed her to the nearest emergency room, but the doctors said the seizures were too severe to handle there. By the time we reached a bigger hospital, the doctors said her sugar levels were extremely high and that her organs were starting to shut down. Her kidneys had stopped working, and her body had gone into shock. She was immediately shifted to the ICU, placed on a ventilator, and started on emergency dialysis and insulin to keep her alive.

A few days earlier, she had been chasing her brother around the house, and now I was watching machines keep her alive. Her body had grown weak, and her face was almost unrecognisable. I stood outside the glass door, listening to the sounds of the ventilator, praying that she would open her eyes. I didn’t know how I would explain to her that her kidneys had stopped working, or that her life now depended on a machine filtering her blood. I only knew that I had to find a way to save her, no matter what it took.

Since then, I have been doing small jobs here and there just to survive. I had believed that somehow, I could still protect my family. But when this happened, I realised how powerless I had become. We have already spent around seven lakh rupees by taking loans and mortgaging our flat. Now the doctors say her treatment may cost at least fifteen lakh more, as each day of dialysis alone costs close to one lakh rupees. Every rupee I had saved is gone, and every person I could borrow from has already helped me. I feel like I am standing in quicksand: no matter how much I struggle, I keep sinking deeper.

She wants to be a doctor when she grows up. She has always been among the top students in her class, the kind of child who finishes her homework early and helps her friends study. Even her teachers often told me how bright and curious she was. I want to hear her voice again, to see her smile and talk about her dreams. I pray every moment for that one chance. I have no strength left, only faith that there are people out there who might help us bring her back to life. Please, help me save my daughter. Your support is the only hope we have left to keep her heart beating and to give her another chance to grow up, to live, and to be happy again.