“I’m too afraid to tell my wife the truth. I’m afraid to hurt her, and I’m afraid that saying it out loud means that this isn’t a nightmare I can wake up from, that it’s real. Our son is slowly dying, and I can’t do anything to save him.”
– Ganesh, father of Bhavik
Ganesh and Shivalakshmi’s story started out like most other young couples’ do in our country. They met, they fell in love, they asked their parents for permission to get married, and got married with their blessings. The first two years of their married life had seemed like a dream: within the first six months Ganesh found a new job as a delivery boy, and by the end of the year he got promoted. But the happiest moment for both of them was when their first child, baby Bhavik, was born three months ago.
But their story had a most tragic and unexpected twist
“My wife was still recovering in the delivery room, when the doctor came out and bluntly told me that there was something wrong with Bhavik's heart. That his life was at risk. It took a few seconds for me to fully grasp what I was hearing. Two minutes ago I was celebrating the birth of my first child, my son, and now… I didn’t know what to say or think. All I knew was Shivalakshmi wouldn’t be able to handle this.”
He had to hide his pain and worry from everyone, especially his wife, for three months
Despite being able to hear a murmur (an unnatural sound) in baby Bhavik’s heart as soon as he was born, the doctor couldn’t find anything conclusive in any chest scans. So Ganesh was allowed to take his wife and child home, on the condition that he would bring the baby back for another scan in 3 months. For the next 12 weeks, Ganesh had to smile and pretend to be happy while he was getting more and more anxious and depressed each day.
Despite all his prayers, this time the tests were conclusive, and the results were bad
“It’s confirmed now, Bhavik has 2 holes in heart. Because of this, every time his heart beats, it gets weaker. So every time he laughs, or plays, his condition is actually getting worse and worse because his heart is beating faster than normal, and his lungs are unable to keep up either. I’ve been bringing him to the hospital at least once a week, because of the breathlessness he has developed. My wife thinks he just has some infection.”
Ganesh still hasn’t told his wife everything, because he is holding onto one final hope
“The doctors told me that if Bhavik gets urgent surgery, they can close the holes and he’ll grow up to be a normal and healthy boy. The cost is too much for me, I barely earn 8,000 a month. But I am hoping that through your kindness and generosity we will be able to raise enough money for it before it’s too late. I love my son more than anything, but my wife, she... Every time I look at her holding him, I can see just how much he means to her… I am afraid that she may never recover if anything happened to him. Please don’t let that happen. Please donate.”
The doctors have advised Ganesh to get Bhavik the surgery as early as possible, no later than a few weeks.
Kindly donate as much as you can. Every little bit counts towards keeping Shivalakshmi and Ganesh from losing their first child.
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