Every afternoon Niharika’s mom switches on the TV channel to watch the Tarak Mehta series. Because the Hirani family knows no other way to get 7-year-old Niharika to finish her greens for lunch. “I think we have shows sorted for every meal,” her mother smiles. “This show takes care of her lunch and Doraemon gets her to finish her milk,” she says.
Niharika’s parents would love for her to run around like other children. Even more so, send her to school. With their little daughter’s free spirit trapped in a weak body, it pains them to see third child go through the same ordeal that their 2 elder sons went through. Vinod and his wife lost 2 kids to fatal diseases in less than 10 years. Since then, the couple fights between fear and hope every time they wait in the hallways of Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, Delhi for doctors or reports.
What Started As Nose Bleed Was A Severe Blood Disorder
Niharika was 3 and half year old when one fine morning she started bleeding through her nose. Though Vinod wanted to write it off as a reaction to weather change, deep inside he knew it wasn't normal. It brought back memories of the sleepless nights of their 4-year-old son, Sachin fighting similar disorder. Soon Niharika’s bleeding incidents aggravated to urine and gums. The tests confirmed that their little daughter has Aplastic Anemia, a rare disease in which the bone marrow and the hematopoietic stem cells are severely damaged.
‘When will you stitch my uniform?'
“I don’t know why our kids have to go through so much pain for survival.”, her mother’s eyes well up thinking about Niharika. “Everytime she sees me on the sewing machine, she asks ‘When will you stitch my uniform?’. I struggle to find the courage to answer my little girl’s innocent wishes.” A bone-marrow transplant can completely cure Niharika. Though it is good news that a donor match is available, it is beyond Vinod’s capacity to arrange Rs 22 lakhs for the treatment.
Parents Work 16 Hours A Day To Make Ends Meet
Vinod and his wife run a small stitching business earning not more than Rs 15,000 a month. With Niharika’s condition, the couple cannot afford to leave her out of their sight. They have lost all their savings to medical expenses of their children, Vinod has nothing left. “With cure just a stone’s throw away, it would be a crime to give up now. Me and my wife work 16-18 hours a day trying to earn every penny we can.”, says Vinod.How can you help?
This couple is fighting with all their might to give their daughter a life-saving bone marrow transplant, which will take place in Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute. They want her to experience the joys of childhood. It is their intense love for Niharika that pushes them out of bed every morning and forces them to keep going, no matter what odds are stacked against them. You can help Vinod save his daughter’s life. Donate here.Here are the supporting documents:
