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“In the last 5 years, I can’t remember even a single day when we slept in peace, not being afraid of what might happen to our child. Every minute of her life since birth, she has been struggling immensely, fighting one thing after the other. This is not the life I wanted for my daughter... I want her to live a normal life like other children of her age. Is it too much to ask?”
- Velangini, mother
I just want her to have a normal childhood, free of sickness
5-year-old Athvika has spent most of her life inside the 4 walls of different hospital rooms, than at home or outside. Her plight began right after she was born. She had jaundice, for which she was admitted for almost 2 weeks. But in the next 6 months, she suffered from jaundice thrice, which is a lot even for an adult.“I don’t even know where to start when someone asks me what happened to our Athvika. Blood clots, infections, endless injections, days or even months of hospitalisation… her body has never been healthy, she weighs merely 9kgs, a weight of a 2 year old and hasn't been able to walk on her own yet. She has gone through so much already that I fear she has lost all her innocence as a child. She talks like a grown up, giving her parents the strength, saying everything will be okay. I just want her to have a normal childhood, free of sickness.” - Velangini
A condition that can turn into cancer without urgent transplant
Athvika’s ailment only came to light in May this year, when a bone marrow test was done after a series of complications. There were signs of cancer cells forming in her body leading to the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a condition that carries a high risk of turning into Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), a blood cancer.“‘Your baby won’t survive, she has only 30 minutes', when you hear something like this coming from a big hospital doctor, you wish it to be a horrible dream but it wasn’t for us and we had to rush her to another hospital where by God’s grace she was saved and soon even had to undergo a liver transplant. After all of that, I really wished it was over but cancer? Why is God punishing my daughter like that?” - Edison, father
Only you can help
Now, there is only one way to save little Athvika - a bone marrow transplant, but time is running out. The transplant needs to be done before her MDS turns into cancer. But these parents can’t afford the cost of the treatment.Edison is a graphic designer who freelances and Velangini is a homemaker, the current income of Rs 15-20 thousand a month is barely enough for the couple to keep them afloat. With their finances stretched thin, affording this transplant is next to impossible. They need your help.
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