“Rehan was just about to be free from blood cancer in January 2019 – after fighting it for over 2 years. His maintenance chemo was just about to end but right before that, he relapsed and now I don’t know how I’ll manage to save him. Rehan is very depressed now. After fighting cancer the first time, he had started living a normal life by playing and going to school. Now, on many days he shouts so much out of pain and he has no energy to move his legs too.” – Abdul, Rehan’s father
13-year-old Rehan and his parents thought that they had won their long and hard-fought battle. Now, the parents can’t control their tears because Rehan’s last hope of survival against the deadly blood cancer is to receive an urgent bone marrow transplant within the next few weeks.
Rehan’s Unbearable Pain
“His hemoglobin count is extremely low and by just looking at him you can see that he is so weak and pale. One day, we had to go to Navi Mumbai from Mumbai and within the first 5 minutes, Rehan started shouting because he couldn’t even sit due to his pain.” – Abdul
Rehan is battling a severe form of blood cancer for the second time. It's even worse than before. In the past 7 months, despite starting chemo all over again, Rehan has been admitted multiple times due to infections and ulcers. Now, Rehan’s only hope of survival is a bone marrow transplant which costs around Rs. 23 – 25 lakhs.
Rehan’s Brave Fight Against Cancer Was In Vain
“We first got to know about his cancer in 2016 in our village which is 800km from Mumbai. His initial chemo in 2016 was brutal. He had so many ulcers that he couldn’t even drink water. He lost over 8-9 kilos and he has still not gained it back. We had stayed in Mumbai back then too and we have no help here – we live in a small room which costs Rs. 200 per day. He had to be rushed to the hospital so many times due to infections.” – Abdul
Abdul Is Drowning In Debt And Can’t Save Rehan
After Rehan’s initial chemotherapy, his parents had to take him 50 km from home every 2 weeks and come to Mumbai every 3 months for check-ups too. Each of these trips would cost a minimum of Rs. 3000 which is more than half of Abdul’s monthly income as a labourer.“Altogether, I’ve spent over Rs. 6 lakhs on his treatments up till now, out of which I’ve borrowed Rs. 4.5 lakhs from other people. I have no one left to ask. I haven’t even been able to work and there are no savings at all. Is this really the fate of my child? I can’t bear to watch him like this.” – Abdul
“Rehan wants to be with his friends. These past 7 months have been the hardest. He doesn’t eat or drink anything most of the time. He has no energy. It’s hard to watch this as his mother, I’m still in shock that he has relapsed and I've always thought that we can lose him anytime. I just want to save him. Now our hopes rest on all of you.” – Afreen, Rehan’s mother
Rehan’s condition is deteriorating rapidly. Abdul doesn’t even have money for a simple checkup let alone a bone marrow transplant which costs around Rs. 23 -25 lakhs. He can’t save his son without your help.
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 organiser or the medical team.
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