“My wife has stopped sleeping at night, she fears that if she closes her eyes even for a single minute she will lose our son, Ritesh. She spends her night staying awake checking on him - seeing if he is still alive. He is very critical, he can’t even breathe on his own. A dangerous disease will take away our son away from us unless we can afford an urgent bone marrow transplant in 2 days,” - Rahul, father.
In the last few months, Ritesh was admitted to the hospital for more than 5 times
Rahul and Shalaka’s family seemed complete when little Ritesh was born to them eight months ago. Their elder son, Neel, was very excited to have a baby brother to play with. Their lives were going on smoothly when suddenly in January, Ritesh started falling sick.
“He often had a fever, a little change in weather and he would start sneezing and coughing. I tried all homemade remedies but they didn’t seem to work. In fact, I noticed that he was losing weight. Scared, we took him to a local hospital. He was admitted there for few days and then when he got discharged, we thought he was going to be fine,” - Shalaka, mother.
But the parents were proved wrong when in a period of 4 months, he was admitted over 5 times. Finally, a test in April revealed that Ritesh is suffering from severe combined immunodeficiency. It is a combination of very rare, life-threatening diseases that has destroyed the immune system of the baby.
He starts crying out loud if I lay him on the bed
The dangerous disease is breaking Ritesh from inside - a small infection can turn fatal for the 8-month-old. The risk is so high that even his father is not allowed to come inside the room. The baby boy weighs only about 4 kilos. He is too weak to even breastfeed.
“The moment I put him down on the bed, he starts wailing. When I hold him I can only feel his bones - he is that weak! By the look on his face, I can tell that he is very scared. All those injections and medicines are making him cranky. He doesn’t even look at his favourite toys these days. His pain makes me cry - I feel helpless not being able to do anything for my baby.”
He needs the transplant in 2 days but the costs are too high for them
Rahul is a small farmer in Satara, Maharashtra who grows sugar cane in his field. He doesn’t make much, just about enough to look after his family - send his elder son to school. Shalaka and Rahul have big dreams for their sons - they want their children to live a happy, healthy life. But now they’re asking themselves if that was too much to ask“My wife and I are struggling to save Ritesh’s life but how will I afford the 20 lakhs needed for the transplant? I have borrowed from my friends and paid over 2 lakhs but without help, I can never arrange for the rest. I am desperate to save my baby boy, please help me.”8-month-old Ritesh is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant but his father is unable to afford it. A generous contribution from your side can help save this baby's life
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.
