This Father Pedalled 400km To Save His Son From A Deadly | Milaap
This Father Pedalled 400km To Save His Son From A Deadly Disease
  • AR

    Created by

    Atmasuman R
  • VK

    This fundraiser will benefit

    Vivek Kumar

    from Godda, Jharkhand

5-year-old Vivek was diagnosed with a blood disease when he was just 3 months old. Ever since then, he has been undergoing blood transfusion every 15 days. It is the only way he could survive. But last year when the pandemic struck the country and the nationwide lockdown was announced, it became a matter of life and death for this poor boy.

“It had been more 15 days since Vivek’s last transfusion and his condition got very critical. We kept waiting for an ambulance, but it never came. Looking at him, my husband just couldn’t sleep all night. He said if my child dies, I’ll die too and the next morning he just took Vivek with him on his bicycle to the city. It was a 200-kilometer journey, but there was nothing else to do.” -Rekha, mother



I just kept pedalling in an effort to save my son’s life


“I could’t let my child die in front of my eyes, so I just kept paddling. We carried food from home and when it was finished, we made do with whatever we could get along the way. I managed to save my son that time but it’s a constant battle to keep him alive,” -Dilip


Vivek suffers from Thalassemia, a disorder involving lower-than-normal amounts of an oxygen-carrying protein in the blood. It leaves the child fatigued, weak, pale and leads to slow growth. The child’s disease has progressed over the years and now, blood transfusions won’t help, only a bone marrow transplant can save his life.


A Poor labourer, he barely manages to keep the family afloat


Dilip is the only breadwinner for his family of 7 members. He is a daily wage labourer and his income is barely enough to keep the family afloat along with Vivek’s treatment expenses. For the last 5 years, Dilip has been mostly away from home, getting Vivek treated alone in various cities. Whichever city he went to, he used to find work and had no choice but to take Vivek with him.

“It was very hard to manage everything. There were times when I was asked to leave the site as I had Vivek with me and times when I didn’t earn enough money to send him back home. It has been a painful journey for the entire family and now it can finally come to end - this transplant can help my child live a normal life...but I can’t afford it.” -Dilip


Vivek is a very active child, who looks at the world with his curious little eyes. But his innocent smile and chirpy self now has a 2-week expiration date. He needs a bone marrow transplant to end this cycle. It will cost his poor father 20 lakh rupees, which is impossible for him to afford.

This family needs your help to end their misery. Your generous contribution can save this child’s life

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