These Parents Cannot Even Buy Medicines For Daughter's Liver Disease

“Sneha’s liver is inching close to failure by the day and only certain advanced medicines and therapy can save her. Till now, we have somehow managed to get her proper care by borrowing a lumpsum from local moneylenders, but we cannot do that for long as our expenses are exceeding our income right now. We cannot take loans from banks because we do not have any property that we can pledge. On one hand, we have to worry about our daughter who is not even able to eat a morsel of food properly, and on the other, we don’t know how we will pay back the loans we have taken till now for her treatment” - Selvaraj, father of 17-year-old Sneha.

Vijaya and Selvaraj are trying their best to keep their daughter positive, but Sneha's hope is fading everyday

Just two months back, Sneha was preparing for her 12th board exams; today she is forced to stay at home due to her illness

Sneha had scored over 85% in her 10th board exams and was studying hard to score better this time. Sudden episodes of vomiting and loss of consciousness made her skip classes. She also developed yellowing in her eyes. The doctors at a local hospital in Villupuram said that she had jaundice and gave her medicines, but nothing worked.

“Her vomiting episodes made me very scary- because she would just throw up without a break. She does not eat food from outside so that made us even more scared about what disease she had. And when the local doctors here told us that it was jaundice, it was even more unbelievable. Her father broke down, because he was so proud of how well his daughter was doing at school. He couldn’t believe that his daughter had become so ill ” - Vijaya, Sneha’s mother.

Despite being short on funds, Sneha’s parents had no choice but to take her to Chennai for better treatment. It is there that they were hit with the bad news: their dear daughter’s liver was failing and she needed advanced medication to control it

“She had no problems before. She was healthy. How could this happen to someone who was fairly healthy? Only God can answer that, I know. We were faced with a very difficult financial situation, but we borrowed from local moneylenders fast. There was no time to waste. She needs to go to Chennai periodically, almost every two weeks to be given injections and advanced medicines. She is smart and she understands that only going to the hospital will help her get better, but sometimes she tells me: ‘Amma, I am done. I don’t think I can deal with another round of medicines’. I only try to console her, but in vain.” - Vijaya

In just 2 months, Sneha has experienced the pain of a lifetime

 Today, Sneha’s whole body writhes in pain because of liver failure

The energetic girl who once told her mother that no fever could stop her from going to school does not feel like waking up in the morning now. Her mother, Vijaya, has to force her out of bed and compel her to eat something, anything.

“The doctors have told us that Sneha should be given nutritious food, so I try to feed her but she does not budge. She only eats half an idli or a dosa all day sometimes. I feel my daughter will die of starvation before her liver gets to her. She tells me that she does not feel good when she eats and that it feels like her whole body is aching. I think it is a side-effect of the medicines she is having, but they are the only things keeping her alive” - Vijaya

Sneha was a bubbly young girl, her eyes full of dreams

If Sneha’s liver condition does not improve with medicines, she will need a liver transplant

“We cannot afford the medicines that she is having right now, how will we afford her liver transplant? I don’t know what I will do if she gets worse. Every day I pray to God to make her alright. Money is very, very tight but we need our daughter to be healthy again. I hope we find a way out” - Selvaraj

These parents are scrambling for money to save their daughter

How you can help

Sneha’s father, Selvaraj, has a rented stall in Villupuram district, which sells everyday household items and earns around Rs 15,000 a month. The family stays in a rented house. He has borrowed almost Rs 10 lakhs till now for Sneha’s treatment from local moneylenders who charge exorbitantly high rates of interest, which he cannot repay any time soon.

“The expenses are only increasing day by day. I may need to borrow more, but if I cannot pay these people back, they might even kill me because I have no property that they can take. I am scared for my life, but I have no other option. My daughter may even die without proper treatment.” - Selvaraj

Your small contribution can help these parents save their daughter