11-Year-Old's School Friends Can't Recognize Him Due To His Cancer

“Aunty, where is Ranjit?” the 11-year-old’s friend asked looking around the house. Shobha was shocked. Ranjit was sitting right beside him. His friend, however, couldn’t recognize him because of how much cancer had changed him. Ranjit’s hair is almost all gone, he has become weak, his face is swollen, eyes sunk in and he can barely open his mouth to talk. But up until then, Ranjit was not scared of the “blood infection” he has.

“After that, he started crying. He asked me why his own friends couldn’t recognize him, and if his infection is so bad that one day even I won’t be able to,” recalls Shobha. Ranjit is terrified, but the only thing that can save him is chemotherapy so that he can go back to the life he once knew.  

Just when they thought their family had overcome the worst, cancer crept into their lives

Shobha and Prabhakar have come up the hard way. There were days when they couldn’t even afford a plate of rice for them and their older son. They decided that they would have another child only once they’ve saved enough to afford an education and a secure future. Prabhakar worked hard every day, and when they finally could afford a small rented house, they decided to have a child again.

“I never knew my parents. Ever since I was a baby, I was brought up by my grandmother. But I always knew that when I had kids of my own, I would be there for them and protect them from everything. When Ranjit was born, everything seemed to fall into place. We even managed to save some money. He was growing well. He was active and was happy going to school. But just when we thought we could finally be happy again, we found out he has blood cancer.” – Shobha

Loans and savings, all exhausted – this couple can’t save their son on their own

A few months ago, Ranjit had started Karate and Yoga classes in school. He came back home extremely happy, but he was tired on most days. Shobha thought he was exhausted because of school, but when his fever didn’t subside for 4 days, she was worried. Shortly after, Ranjit was diagnosed with blood cancer. He has started chemotherapy, but he needs to continue it for the next 6 months to be completely cured. Unfortunately, Shobha and Prabhakar have exhausted their savings.

“I haven’t been able to go for work in three months now. My husband is the only earning member, and his salary isn’t enough to continue his treatment. We’ve also taken a loan of 6 lakhs, but all of that has been spent already.” - Shobha

How You Can Help Ranjit

Before Ranjit’s diagnosis, Shobha worked as a housekeeper in a company. Prabhakar works for a private company and is doing his best to afford their son’s treatment, but it’s just not enough. Ranjit, though unrecognizable to his friends, can fight the disease with timely treatment. He longs to back to school, but more than anything, he longs to feel healthy again. The young boy needs your help to continue getting chemotherapy and have a chance of beating the dreadful disease.