Life has never been easy for Asha. Coming from a poor background, she had to struggle to get into a good college after school, and struggle to get good marks without buying the expensive books her classmates could afford. She was studying BSc.-Mathematics when she found out that she had Wilson’s Disease, one of the rarest diseases in the whole world, and that it was starting to kill her liver. She has been fighting it for ten years, because she decided she wouldn’t let this disease take her from her family. But when she gave birth to her sweet son 1 year ago, the strain on her liver was too much. Asha’s liver is now in its end-stage, and her battle with death has now become a daily struggle.


 

Finding out you have a life-threatening illness when so young is not easy

“It had been really hard for me when I was first diagnosed. Balancing my studies and responsibilities at home, with the constant possibility of death at the back of my mind. But I taught myself early to not fear death, dedicatedly taking all the medications. I had my parents to take care of, and too many things to achieve; I really wanted to be a teacher. I made up for missing my entire 2nd year by doing two years’ worth of work. After I got my BSc. degree, I got into IIT Bombay for my MSc.-Mathematics. After that, I went on to finally achieve my dream of becoming a teacher.”
– Asha

Life seemed under control, and Asha allowed herself to be happy

Asha is a great wife, a great daughter, a great teacher, and all the while she was dealing with her disease. When she found out that she was pregnant, it was the happiest moment in her life. And then her son was born late last year, and she thought life was complete at last.

But the pregnancy had unexpected side-effects

Soon after the delivery, she started experiencing severe pains and swelling in her abdomen. When the doctors did scans, they found that her liver had gotten severely damaged, and it was causing heavy buildup of fluid in her stomach. They prescribed more medications, but to no effect. Soon, Asha had to get a tube surgically inserted into her stomach, that allowed her to drain the liquid regularly. It got to a point where she was draining 3.5 liters of this liquid each day. She experienced severe weakness and pain during this time.

She collapsed while teaching her students

Outwards she was confident and reassuring to her family and students, but internally her body was screaming. Her condition got so bad that earlier this year she started collapsing in the middle of class, and has had to be rushed to the hospital multiple times in critical condition. At the moment, her liver has reached its end-stage and for Asha death could be just a matter of days from now.

Treatment is possible but too expensive for her family

The doctors are confident that if Asha gets a liver transplant urgently, all will be fine. They have given her a maximum deadline of September 19th. If she gets the transplant done before then, she will be fine, and have a full life. If she doesn’t, she will be leaving behind a husband, her aged parents, her students, and a newborn son, who all love her greatly. But her family is extremely poor, and they cannot afford such an expense. While they should be celebrating Onam, they’re all sitting in silence, hoping today isn’t the day they lose Brave Asha.

So they now seek your help. Please donate whatever you can, and you’d be saving not just Asha’s life, but the lives of all the people she has touched with her bravery, kindness, and compassion.