“In just a month, our lives came to a standstill. Seema and I had to always be behind our 5-year-old daughter, Akshaini. Now she barely speaks. She just smiles at us meekly. Gifts and surprises don't excite her anymore. I am scared that my little girl will never be like before. I feel she is already going far away from us,” Siddhu, Akshaini’s father.
Siddhu refused to believe that his daughter has cancer but the reports from several hospitals forced him to accept the bitter truth
Akshaini was a happy and healthy child until a month back. She was in her second grade and loved going to school until cancer took control over her. Siddhu misses the daily struggle to get his daughter ready for school. Her laughter and mischiefs seem to be a distant past now.
“A month back my little girl had a cough and a high fever. Since it’s raining so much in Mumbai, I thought that she must have caught a viral. I took her for a normal blood test. The tests revealed that she has blood cancer. I wasn’t prepared for this. I am still in complete shock. I took Akshaini to 3 other doctors hoping that someone would tell me ‘she doesn’t have cancer.’ That never happened.”
The little girl thinks she has a small infection and can go home soon
Akshaini has one of the rarest forms of blood cancer called high-risk Philadelphia chromosome positive. Her white blood cells counts are now 4 lakhs (normal count is almost 45 billions to 11 billion per microlitre). She is tired all day and doesn’t speak much now.
“Seema always bragged about our daughter having very pretty hair. Akshaini has begun her chemotherapy and has to undergo a few more. She has started losing hair already. Every time Seema combs her hair, she cries a little more. She is so small that it’s so difficult to even explain to her that she has cancer. All she knows is that she has a blood infection. Sometimes it is extremely difficult to convince her to go to the hospital.”
Despite being a heart patient, mother is struggling to save her daughter from cancer
Siddhu doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned to save his daughter. He has been constantly running around in the rains to look for help. Chemotherapy is no longer enough to save Akshaini, she also needs a bone marrow transplant.“My wife, Seema is a heart patient herself. It amazes me to see that despite her own illness she has not spent even a minute in despair. She is not ready to believe that we can’t do this. She is the strongest. She is the one who keeps convincing Akshaini to go to the hospital. I know she is shattered inside, but she has always managed to gather strength.”
Sometimes even after earning enough, cancer can take away everything
Siddhu had to resign 2 months back from his sales job. While he was looking for a job, Akshaini fell sick. He can’t even give enough time to appear for the job interviews now. Seema works in a private firm and runs the house and Akshaini’s medical treatment. Seema has been undergoing treatment for her heart condition too.
“We are in a situation where we don’t really know which way to turn. We have spent Rs 7 lakhs in just a month. We always thought that we earn enough to have a decent life. But I realised, cancer can take away everything. We are ready to give whatever we have to save our little girl, but it will take us years to earn such huge amounts of money. All we want is save our Akshaini at any cost.”
How you can help
Akshaini is suffering from a rare form of blood cancer. She needs to undergo chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant so that cancer doesn’t kill her. The cost required to save her now is Rs 50 lakhs and the parents are finding it very hard to arrange such a huge amount of money.Your support can help them save their daughter.
Supporting Document
The specifics of this case have been verified by the medical team at the concerned hospital. For any clarification on the treatment or associated costs, contact the campaign organizer or the medical team.
