Devyani(12) has not been able to go to school for the last few months. But she has been diligently attending the online classes, she doesn’t want to miss them. She is scared that if she does, her first rank in the class will slip. But she hasn’t turned on her video even for once. She fears that her classmates will make fun of her if they see her like this - with no hair and all weak.  Devyani is battling blood cancer and the life-threatening disease is pushing her towards death. But she hasn't given up hope, she is determined to fight on.

A very heavy period led to her cancer diagnosis

Always a healthy child, Devyani never gave a single worry to her parents - Pallavi and Deepak. A responsible and obedient child, she also took care of her younger brother. The Shindes led a happy and contented life in Pune until their daughter got diagnosed with blood cancer.

“It was all so sudden. First she started bleeding from her nose and then her mouth. Then came the vomiting, she couldn’t eat anything at all. Finally, she had her periods and the flow was way too much. She fell unconscious and we immediately took her to the hospital. They admitted her and ran tests. The blood tests came negative but the bone marrow test...that’s when we got to know that she has cancer,” - Pallavi, mother.  

A district-level gymnast, Devyani is now tied to her bed

Apart from studies, the one thing that made Devyani happy was gymnastics and mallakhamb (a traditional sport from India in which a gymnast performs aerial yoga postures and wrestling grips in concert with a vertical stationary or hanging wooden pole, cane, or rope.) She never missed her lessons and even participated in district level competitions.
 

“She was so good at it. And it was delight, watching her swiftly climb the rope and make different postures. Her coach assured us that she would go places and we were all so happy. But now, all that seems like a dream. She has undergone three rigorous cycles of chemo and it has made her so weak. She gets infections and fever, often she can’t eat anything for days together. Now she needs my help even when she has to go to the bathroom. Despite all this she hasn't lost her fighting spirit. Like her competitions, she wants to win this battle against cancer,"- Pallavi.  

My husband has lost his job, how will we continue Devyani’s treatment?

A few months ago, Deepak had suffered an accident and had fractured his leg. A further mishap has led to an infection in his leg and he wasn’t able to go to work for a long time. He used to work as a mechanic in a car garage.

 

“Just when he was getting better, the pandemic started and soon Devyani was diagnosed with cancer. She needed so much care, often her condition would become critical that we would have to rush her to the hospital. Deepak had to be around. All this didn’t allow him to get back to work and soon he lost his job,” - Pallavi.

Yet he did his best to arrange money for Devyani’s chemotherapy. He even begged from his relatives and somehow made a payment of 9 lakhs. But he needs another 8 lakhs to continue Devyani’s treatment. They need your help for that. Even a small contribution will go a long way in saving them.