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“I held her shaking body in my arms all the way to the hospital. It took us half an hour to reach the hospital from our village, and all the way, her eyeballs were rolled upwards, her hands and legs were shaking violently, and her mouth was frothing. That was supposed to be her first day of school, instead, it was just the beginning of her battle for life.” - Krishnamurthy, Sri Nithya's father.
Every time a doctor passes by the waiting room, Nagarani begs them to save her little one. Krishnamurthy gently pulls away and she breaks down in his arms at the thought of her 6-year-old's plight. Sleep has evaded the parents who flinch every time they see Sri Nithya in the PICU, unconscious and with numerous tubes running through her body. Sri Nithya’s seizures have left her critical. Without treatment, she won't make it.
She had seizures every 10 minutes and all her helpless parents could do is watch her suffer
Sri Nithya eagerly waited for her school to reopen. She had new books that her father had bought for her, and she was excited about all the new friends she would make. Unfortunately, on the first day of class 2, she fell severely ill. Despite medications, her condition only worsened over the next two days.
“She started throwing up, and suddenly, her left hand and leg began shaking uncontrollably. We knew that her condition was far more serious than a mere fever. We took her to the hospital near our village and the first thing she said when she woke up is “Appa, I want to go to school.” But her condition only got worse. She would have seizures every ten minutes, and there was nothing we could do. We then rushed her to a hospital in Hyderabad.”
Little Sri Nithya has been in the PICU on ventilator support for nearly 5 days now for recurring epileptic seizures. An MRI scan revealed that she not only has an infection in her brain, but there’s also an increasing swelling. She's on anesthesia to control the seizures. The only way she will survive is if she stays in the PICU for 2 more weeks.
Her father is struggling to save her on a carpenter’s income, while her heartbroken mother cries all day
Krishnamurthy is trying hard to stay strong for his wife. She doesn’t eat or sleep and barely manages to say a few words. He tries to reassure that their daughter will be fine in no time, but now, his faith is also shaking. With little money left, Krishnamurthy doesn’t know if he can even afford the next injection for his daughter, let alone further stay in the PICU.
“I’m only a small-time carpenter. I earn Rs. 250 per day when there's work. I can’t afford the 16 lakhs needed to continue her treatment. Each injection costs more than what I will ever earn in a year. I’ve borrowed a little money from my family to start her treatment, but I can’t save her without help.”
