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“The first word that came out of his mouth was ‘Papa’. It was not too long ago – he would keep calling me Papa, and giggle non-stop whenever I held him. Now, things have changed. My child does not recognise me anymore; he does not smile nor try to say anything. It is like we are stuck in a bad dream with no way out.”- Sirajuddin, father.
Sirajuddin and Tasleem have not had a good night’s sleep for a whole month now. They are starving, famished and on the verge of complete collapse – ever since their baby boy was admitted to a hospital. In addition to being mentally and physically exhausted, they have also completely run out of money. But all they care about is the well-being of their son, who is in a critical condition.
A severe brain infection put his life at risk
In February this year, Sirajuddin and Tasleem’s baby boy started getting recurrent fevers. Though they were mild at first, slowly his body began burning up, causing him to become weak and frail. This was accompanied by vomiting after a few days. When they saw that their son was not getting better despite taking all the medicines prescribed by local doctors in their hometown of Jabalpur, they rushed him to a bigger hospital in Nagpur.That is where they learnt that he had a severe brain infection. Without further surgeries, the infection can cause brain swelling, and lead to a point where veins in his brain could burst due to growing pressure.
“He suffered seizures. One side of his body had even become paralysed. We didn’t know what was happening. He was perfectly alright before this… how did he get so sick? He had to undergo an emergency surgery to remove the fluid that had accumulated in his brain. He is in a pathetic state now - he opens his eyes sometimes, but he does not look at us. We try to call out to him, but he does not respond.” – Tasleem, mother
‘He needs surgery and prolonged hospitalization…but how will we afford it?’
Sirajuddin is a daily wager who earns only around INR 6,500 a month. He is the sole breadwinner of his family, who already found it difficult to put food on the table because of poverty. He has always put the needs of his family first, and this time things are no different. He has been going hungry for days altogether to save money to be able to feed his wife and take care of the treatment expenses of his child.At present, he and his wife sleep on hospital floors, are dependent on staff for food and do not know how they will manage to save their baby in these circumstances.
“He is our only child. We have all our hopes pinned on him. We cannot lose him. We are struggling to survive, but all we want to focus on is his well-being; his survival. Please help us. Doctors have said that they need to place a shunt in his brain to make him better. My baby needs your help and prayers.” – Sirajuddin, tearfully
This baby boy needs your support to beat this deadly disease. Click here to contribute.
Identity of the child is protected in adherence to government guidelines
