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“This disease caught hold of him when he was a little baby. And it has not left him since. Every month we see him become too weak to even get up from bed, and we curse our stars for having to watch our child suffer helplessly.”- Veena, mother.
4-year-old Nihar is suffering from thalassemia major, a blood disorder in which the body can produce only lesser-than normal amounts of oxygen. He was diagnosed when he was just 6 months old, after his parents observed that his body started becoming pale, almost white in colour. It was due to reduced levels of hemoglobin caused by this disease.
Regular blood transfusions can help temporarily, but the only real cure available is a bone marrow transplant. In Nihar’s case, he needs it urgently as doctors have clearly told his parents, Prakash and Veena, that without the transplant in the next few days, he may suffer fatal damage to organs like the liver and kidneys due to excess iron deposition from repeated blood transfusions.
‘He hasn’t even been able to go to school yet…when will he have a normal life?’
When little Nihar watches other kids in his neighbourhood go to school, he too wishes to wear a uniform and hop on the school bus. Whenever he asks his parents about it, he is either ignored or they change the subject.“How will we send him to school? His health is always compromised. He needs to get blood transfusions every 20 days. Without it he becomes completely weak, without an ounce of energy left in him. He is very smart, but in this condition, we were always too scared to enrol him in school.” – Veena
‘We need lakhs for his treatment, but we do not even have a few thousands with us’
Prakash is a small-time farmer based in Mandya, Karnataka, where, on good months he makes up to INR 8,000 per month. He has to manage the whole household on such meagre earnings. Veena is a housewife, who is always preoccupied in the care of Nihar, who needs her full-time. Prakash has spent almost 4 to 5 lakhs on Nihar’s monthly transfusions and medicines and does not have anything left to fund his transplant.“We have not yet returned the money that I have borrowed in the past 4 years for his treatment. We need lakhs for the procedure that can save him, but unfortunately we have no way to pay for it. Without it, he can even lose his life. Please help us.” – Prakash.
These parents need your urgent help to save their young son who is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. Click here to contribute.
