5 year old Kritika is diagnosed with blood cancer ALL (Acute lymphoblastic leukemia) last month and needs urgent funding for her treatment.

For around 2 weeks Kritika had fever associated with cough and cold. When we consulted general physicians & child specialist, we were informed that she has viral fever and it will go away in few days. After consultation and medication there was no substantial improvement in her health. She used to feel exhausted and tired after playing even for 4-5 minutes. She used to complaint of body pains by signaling to her hands & legs. When I tried to make her play with new games, she used to get cranky in minutes and ask her mom to get her to lay down. It was very painful sight to watch the child suffer like this. We were clueless on what destiny had in her fate. When we realized that whatever is happening is something strange, we consulted a known pediatrician for further examination & reports. The pathology lab people suggested something critical in Kritika’s report but wouldn’t give away any information until the reports were sent to the doctor. Our family was under impression that it could be dengue, malaria or any kind of flu but never in our conscious minds we thought about “Cancer” a word known to destabilize even the strongest of people. We were really scared and there was panic situation all over our family. On further diagnosis at the hospital, after 4 days it was confirmed by doctor, who sat us down and explained the situation in depth. He relieved us from the fear of suspected bone marrow transplant and guided us to the treatment of ‘ALL’ cancer. It includes chemotherapy and routine checks to understand how Kritika is responding to the treatment. Doctor also told us to maintain strict levels of hygiene around her to avoid any infection and also to stay in close proximity to the hospital and to bring her to the hospital at any point of time when she shows varied symptoms like fever, cough, cold or anything that affects her health. This is her first month of treatment and Chemo has brought our little cheerful baby to sleep like a cocoon. She doesn’t want to interact with anyone other than her parents and always wants to lay down irrespective of any games or engagement you get her to play with.

Before going through all this, Kritika used to be a healthy kid who loved playing, dancing. She used to dance her heart out along with her mother and would rejoice our life with happiness. But since this phase has started, Kritika has become very shy, almost irritated all the time and not desiring to interact with anyone. Not even her favorite Pinni (me) & Babai (my husband). It breaks our heart to even write this about her and very difficult to see her undergo all this at such a tender age. We want to see her dance & play as before and want her to get going to school at the earliest.

Kritika’s father works in Finance department in one of the construction company in Bengaluru and mother is housewife. We also had a setback few months ago on Jan 22 when Kritika’s father met with an unfortunate accident. The treatment for the same was around 2-3 Lakhs which used most of his savings money to cover the expenses . He is still not totally recovered and amidst his treatment, we got to know about Kritika’s situation which requires a lot of funds to get her treated. We have also used the savings which we planned for Kritika’s schooling which she was about to start in few months.

The initial estimate provided by the hospital for Kritika’s treatment is approximately 10 lacs for the first 6 months and she would be under maintenance phase of another 18 months which will also include frequent visits to the hospital. However, there have been unforeseen situations lately which are leading to Kritika being hospitalized more than estimated. She is not responding very well to the process and has to be kept under observation conducting numerous other tests which are further resulting into more funding requirements.

Being a middle-class family, it is becoming very difficult for us to gather this surplus amount for getting our dear daughter treated. Few of our relatives and friends came forward and contributed to some extent but it isn’t enough for the entire duration of 2 years.

We are counting on every single donation to help us gather enough money to afford this treatment in the coming 2 years. We know it’s not going to be easy, but we have faith in God. Each donation will bring us closer to the possibility of restoring our daughter to full health. To support our cause and help us reach more compassionate givers, also share our fundraiser on your social media handles. Our gratitude for these humane acts will remain with you.

Your prayers, gratitude and generous help is all that we need to see our little girl coming back to her normal and healthy life.