I thought my daughter was so strong that there would be nothing a few injections couldn't fix. I was not prepared for something like this,” says Chairag, Viha’s father.
Early in January this year, Chirag and his family were coming back to Ahmedabad from a short trip to his relatives’ place when Viha had trouble breathing. They took her to the doctor the next day, thinking it was probably a bad cold or an infection. But nothing prepared them for cancer. Viha has an orange-sized tumour near her heart and needs extended chemotherapy to survive.
For Viha's parents, the diagnosis was earth shattering
Viha has always been a healthy baby. Before her cancer could be diagnosed - she developed pneumonia and needed treatment. It was too late by the time the various tests for cancer were performed and the results came. Viha's heart stopped beating and she had to put on the ventilator.
Viha with her 5-year-old brother, Vansh
In just a few days, Viha's condition had deteriorated and she was in the ICU on ventilator support, because her heart kept stopping every one or two days. Her parents are shattered to see their baby girl fighting for her life. Even after chemotherapy sessions started, her platelet count began to drop alarmingly. Moreover, the treatment targeted at her tumour has started to affect her kidneys now and she can't urinate anymore. Soon, Viha went on dialysis too.
Even in her critical condition, little Viha is a fighter
"For us, doctors are the Gods. We can only pray for our daughter to get better and come back to us. Initially, the doctors were losing hope, but now they say she's responding to treatment and they tell us that there's still hope."
At an age where children are playful and learn new things, baby Viha is fighting cancer, pneumonia and kidney malfunction. Due to her critical health condition, she's being fed through nasal feeding tubes in order to provide her with the right nutrition.
Although she's still on ventilator support, she's showing signs of improvement and the doctors are hopeful that with the timely treatment, Viha will completely recover from this illness. But in order f this to happen, Chirag needs to have the necessary funds.
Family problems don't leave Chirag with money for Viha's treatment
Chirag has a small business in Ahmedabad that doesn't provide him with regular stable income. Being the only breadwinner of the family, he also has to manage all the household expenses in the meagre income he makes. To make matters worse financially, Chirag's younger brother is bedridden due to a prolonged illness and hence unfit to work. All these expenses don't allow him any money to spare for the mounting costs of his Baby's treatment.
How you can help
So far Chirag has spent over Rs 10 lakhs towards Viha's treatment by mortgaging his wife's jewellery, and borrowing funds from friends and money lenders at an interest. But his reserves have run dry again and he can't afford to pay for his daughter's treatment any more. At this critical stage, if Viha can't get the medical attention she needs, she will succumb to cancer.To give a fair second chance at life to Viha, Chirag needs your help. Your contributions can make the difference between life and death for his little girl.
