Nouman is a 4-year-old with blood cancer. His father Noushad works in a mutton shop and earns only Rs 4,000 per month. The news of his son's cancer has hit the family hard.
Nouman with his father NoushadGoing to the hospital is very painful for Nouman
Before he became sick, Nouman was the first one to wake. He would get up fresh and early and run around the house. “He used to wake up and start playing with the water stored in buckets or find ways to reach things on high shelves. We have to wake before him and give him things to do,” explains Nouman's mother Bilkis.
This bundle of energy is now very low, almost beaten down by chemotherapy in the last three months. True to his nature, Nouman has learnt to make the best of the situation. “When we want him to agree to an injection he knows we will do anything and has started asking us to get him chocolates,” Noushad says.
But even the joy he gets from getting his favourite chocolate soon fades as he undergoes painful tests and treatment. He frequently cries and tells his parents he wants to go home. Nouman believes that if they just went back home to Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, the pain will stop and life will go back to normal.
Nouman cries a lot because he is scared of injections“Our second son Nihal just turned 1-year-old. We left him with his aunt and there was no one to celebrate his first birthday. We miss home. Every day, we spent 6,000-10,000 on living expenses and we don't know how much longer the money will last,” says Bilqis.
Every day, Noushad and Bilkis need to spend 6,000-10,000 because they are in Hyderabad for Nouman's treatment“Nouman is a loving child – he has done nothing to deserve so much pain”
So far, the family has managed the hospital expenses from donations from friends and well-wishers. Noushad believes it is because Nouman is such a loving child. He asks after everyone's health and is sensitive to how people are feeling.
Noushad and Bilkis with their children Nouman and Noushad“If you could meet Nouman, you'll know what I am talking about. If you come home, he will do small things to make you feel welcome, like ask you to have tea or bring you water. Sometimes he wakes up in the night and tells us not to be sad and to eat food and be strong. I feel ashamed to go around asking for money, but it is to save this innocent's life,” Noushad says.
It is breaking Noushad and Bilqis' heart to see their child suddenly withdraw into himself. He used to tire his parents out with his antics but his current dullness is more painful to see. With this pain, they have the added burden of arranging for a bone-marrow transplant – the only treatment that can save Nouman now.
How you can help Nouman
Noushad needs 24 lakhs for Nouman's treatment. With his monthly salary of Rs 4,000 even if he works all his life he will never make that much. They have already sold most of their possessions to fund treatment till now. They desperately need help saving Nouman. Your contribution will save his life.
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