"Open your Maths book now," said my 12-year-old daughter, Shruti, holding her wooden scale. She took a chalk and drew a circle on her small board and started teaching her friends. It was her dream to become a teacher, but now, it has been days that my daughter hasn’t even opened her eyes.
She has been lying sedated in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, covered in tubes. Because of her rare and life-threatening disease, her body parts are shutting down one after the other and there is nothing I can do. Every day, I enter the PICU with the hope of her regaining consciousness, but she doesn’t.
I get goosebumps every time I recall the horrific day that brought storm in our lives. One morning, back in May, when my daughter woke up to go to school, she complained of leg pain. We thought that it’s because she keeps playing the entire day. But after some time, when she was getting ready, she suddenly fell down and started screaming in pain.
“Maa, I can’t get up. I can’t feel my legs. Please do something,” she cried. I was terrified. I carried her to the bed and gave her a massage, but she still couldn’t move and kept crying. I called out to my husband, and we rushed Shruti to the hospital where she was immediately taken for diagnosis.
Even after keeping her under observation for a day and running numerous tests, the doctors couldn’t understand her problem. On the other hand, Shruti kept crying continuously. For an active child like her, not feeling a part of her body was horrifying.
We took her to multiple hospitals to find out the real cause behind her pain. Finally, after a week, we were told that Shruti is suffering from Guillain Barre Syndrome, a condition that causes immunodeficiency. It makes the person sensitive to the smallest of infections and affects the brain’s function which can cause death if not treated on time.
We hadn’t even heard of it in our entire lives. It was beyond our understanding. All we knew was that our daughter’s life is in danger. I couldn’t see my daughter in such a condition. “Please do something to treat her,” I begged to the doctors.
My daughter was immediately admitted in the PICU and her treatment started. But it was too late. She soon lost movement in her legs and within a couple of days, her entire body stopped functioning. She lost control over her body. All she could do was blink her eyes.
For us, as parents, it was nothing less than a nightmare- seeing our cheerful child suddenly confined to the bed, battling between life and death. But we somehow pulled ourselves together and left no stone unturned to provide for our daughter’s treatment.
It has been more than two months since Shruti is on a mechanical ventilator, and every day, we get only a few minutes to see her. I long to hear her voice. She was so talkative. She’d keep telling me stories about her school and friends, but now, it seems like she has no life in her.
On the other hand, Sanjeev has been working day in and day out to be able to fund our daughter’s treatment. He has a private job and doesn’t earn much. We have lost track of the money we have spent on her treatment over the span of two months. We have sold off our house, little valuables and took multiple high-interest loans.
“I can do anything to see my daughter fine again. I want to see her jumping and hopping around the house and hear her carefree laugh. I miss her. I am just waiting for the day when I will be able to take her home- healthy,” he says.
However, recently, the doctors told us that Shruti needs to be in the PICU for a few more months to survive and her treatment will cost USD 53,846.00. We were devastated. For the first time in months, Sanjeev shed tears. He has already exhausted everything he had on Shruti’s treatment and there is no way we can arrange another hefty sum.
I have called everyone for help but the required sum is beyond our means. No matter what I do, I’ll never be able to fund our daughter’s treatment. She is suffering so much and now only you can rescue her. Please contribute to save her life. I’ll forever be grateful.
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.
Charity No: 54783925
Note: This fundraiser is not eligible for 80G tax exemption.
