“His eyes have become so yellow. He is so weak that he can’t even sit up without support from either his mother or me. He used to love food so much – every day before I go to work, he would ask me to buy his favorite snacks and eagerly wait till I come back at night. Now, we have to beg him to eat one spoonful of rice.  Every day he asks me, ‘I am praying to God, then why is my body still hurting? Is God not listening to me?”

How it all began

Karthik always was very playful and was full of energy.  He always used to be with his sisters and never leave their side. It all started with fever and body pain. We consulted our family doctor and he gave medications to him. But, we didn’t find any change in condition and his fever kept on increasing and was having severe body pain. He used to cry in pain but we couldn’t help him in any ways.

We took him to hospital again and CBC test was done and the reports showed that the haemoglobin % is less. Immediately, we got him hospitalized and started with blood transfusion but, it didn’t suit his body and doctors suggested to do CBC tests again. This time the reports showed his platelets count was decreasing. This worried us and we immediately transferred him to another hospital for better treatment.

Acute Lymphocyctic Leukemia – Blood cancer

At the new hospital again various tests were done and also Bone marrow tests was done. We were worried yet we always felt it was either malaria or dengue that is casuing trouble for my son. The results for his Bone marrow test came and it was confirmed as Acute Lymphocyctic Leukemia. Doctors suggested chemotherapy and other services for his recovery. His platelets are still not stable. The total cost for his treatment is Rs. 6 lakhs is a huge amount for me and my family. But, we don’t want to loose our son because of no money. I am a farmer who hardly earns enough to look after my family. This completely shook us apart mentally and financially.