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“My husband was the backbone of this family. He took care of everything – from running the household to providing for my parents and I. I didn’t have to worry about a thing when he was alive. But now, I feel the emptiness that he has left behind more intensely, as my son is extremely sick and I don’t know how my family and I will be able to save him before it is too late.”- Aishwarya, mother.
Aishwarya’s husband, Arun, passed away in 2020, in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their son, Darshan Sai, was just a few months old then, and Aishwarya was forced to move back in with her parents in Kanchipuram from Bengaluru, as she was jobless and alone.
She had just begun to adjust to life without a supporting partner and was raising her child on her own when tragedy struck. Her baby Darshan Sai started falling sick, and later he was found to suffer from chronic kidney disease that has put his life in grave danger now.
He spent a whole month in the ICU – it was a sign of worse things to come
It all started when baby Darshan started getting a recurrent fever when he was just 8 months old. His condition started worsening within a few days, and he had to be shifted to the ICU. Blood tests after blood tests were conducted, after which it was revealed that he had very low potassium and calcium levels. He was critical in the ICU for many days and was advised to come for blood tests every month.“We noticed that gradually his hands had swelled up. He was always so irritable as well. Then after the test results of a routine blood test came, we learnt that his kidneys were failing. We were shocked. We never fed him food from outside or exposed him to any harmful substances… how did this happen to him? We still don’t know.” - Anitha, grandmother
‘He is my only son and reminds me of my husband, I can’t lose him’
Darshan Sai is Aishwarya’s only child. He is the gift and only reminder of the the wonderful life she once shared with her now deceased husband. But the thought that she could lose him at any point now adds to her worries. She and her baby are completely dependent on the meagre income earned by her father Kumar who works in a PDS shop in Kancheepuram. They have already spent all their savings on his treatment till now and cannot afford to do so any further.“Doctors have told us that he needs special medicines imported from abroad to get completely well. And these medicines cost a lot. How will we afford it? My father is still having to work so hard in his old age because of my misfortune. Please help me save my baby. I beg you, please...” - Aishwarya, mother.
With your kind help, this widowed mother can save her only child from the deadly grips of kidney disease. Click here to contribute.
