Halima has just a few days left with her son, Riabul. She will have to leave him in the hospital and go back home soon, while he gets chemotherapy. Riabul’s father, Hemayed, seriously injured his leg while working on the field. He can’t even walk, let alone travel to Chennai to be with his son.

“I will have to leave my older son Abdullah with him and go back home. My husband and my younger son need me there. I don’t have enough to afford his treatment and our stay and meals in the city. One of us will have to leave. Riabul is very scared, and I don’t want to leave him, but our circumstances are such.” – Halima, mother

A regular day of cricket led to his grave diagnosis

In November last year, Riabul (8) came back home with pain in his left shoulder after playing cricket. What was assumed to be a game related injury turned out to be a cancerous tumour in his left shoulder blade. The doctors near their village asked Halima to take him to Chennai immediately.

“He has had 6 cycles of chemotherapy since then. He has lost all his hair, and although he doesn’t know he has cancer, he keeps asking me when he will be fine.”

Riabul needs continued chemotherapy and a surgery to fight cancer, but his family has nothing to continue his treatment.

The 2 lakhs they got by selling their land was just enough to start his treatment, now they have nothing

Although Halima, Abdullah and Riabul stayed in a lodge near the hospital when they first came from Dhaka, after the first month, they couldn’t afford to stay there any longer. They had sold most of the land they had to start his treatment. They had 2 lakhs with him, all of which got over in the first 2 cycles of his chemotherapy.

“We’ve continued the treatment so far because of the kindness of the doctors, but we can’t go on like this for long. My husband can’t work because of his serious injury, my older son is only in college and can’t look for work here. We have no income.”

Riabul’s family have done everything they can to try and save him, but nothing seems to be enough. He still needs chemotherapy and a surgery to fight cancer. Without which, it will spread aggressively. Riabul’s mother needs your help to save him.