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“My wife and children ask me not to worry. That they will somehow arrange for treatment. But how can we? We are still paying back for the first treatment. I am unable to even sit on my own. It is difficult to keep believing everything will be all right,” says Manohar.
Manohar lives in a small village near Shabad, Karnataka. He worked as a construction worker but ever since he developed bone cancer, he has not been able to work. His family convinced him to mortgage their home and get his cancerous tumour removed. Unfortunately, his cancer has come back and he has nothing left to get himself treated with.
Manohar ignored his condition for three years before he became bedridden
The pain started almost 4 years back and every step he took hurt at the hip. The doctors gave him painkillers and he managed to condition with it till this year – when the pain simply would not go away. Manohar's family sent him to Bangalore to get tested at a good hospital.
“I thought it was age-related and when the doctor gave me a painkiller tablets, I felt better and the pain was gone. I make Rs 300 a day, on days that I have work. didn't have the courage to go to a hospital and spend so much money,” says Manohar.
Manohar came to Bangalore for treatment and the doctor asked him to arrange for an immediate surgery to remove the tumor. Manohar's family mortgaged their home and borrowed heavily from their friends and family and got the surgery done this July.
The surgery cost the family Rs 4.5 lakhs – an amount they are still paying back. When Manohar's scan showed a relapse of Cancer last month, Manohar's heart sank. There was no way he could afford the surgery this time. No one will give them another loan.
Manohar has become bedridden, unable to work, walk or even sit on his own. Manohar's wife Maryamma, a B.A. and B.Ed. graduate has become an attender in a hospital. In their village, a teacher's salary is Rs 500 a month. She travels 30 kms to go to work at the hospital every day for a salary of Rs 5,000 – the family's only income.
Manohar's two daughters Mamatha and Shivaleela's education fees have been waived off because everyone in the village knows about Manohar's situation. For the first operation, Shivaleela's school even collected some money to contribute to the family.
“My wife and children ask me not to worry. That they will somehow arrange for treatment. But how can we? We are still paying back for the first treatment. I am unable to even sit on my own. It is difficult to keep believing everything will be all right,” says Manohar.
Manohar has become unable to do anything because of his crippling cancer. He wants to live and beat his cancer for his family that is trying so hard to save him. Poverty is the only thing standing between life and death.
Contribute to the fundraiser and help Manohar get this surgery to win against Cancer.
