She was full of life, running around all the time, refusing to sit still. Today, her life is confined inside the four walls of the hospital…fighting hard for each breath she takes.
This is the story of 7-year-old Spoorthi who has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Not only has she lost weight, but her entire body also suffers from severe pain.
Spoorthi would never compromise on her playtime, but Sumalatha and her husband started noticing that Spoorthi started becoming immobile, to a point where she just refused to move and even to get her to the washroom the parents had to pick her up.
Spoorthi is the only child of Sumalatha who hails from a poor family and was finding it extremely difficult to fund her treatment. Her husband is a daily wage worker and his mere Rs.10,000 a month salary was not enough for them to provide Spoorthi with the right treatment. The 7-year-old needs a blood transfusion every other day, and along with being excruciatingly painful, the process is extremely expensive.
Today, Sumalatha and her husband are frantically trying to find a donor for Spoorthi to have her bone marrow transplant surgery done successfully. The cost of the entire treatment is Rs 30 lakhs and Sumalatha, after selling off her jewellery and borrowing money from her relatives is still nowhere close to funding the treatment. The hapless parents have admitted their daughter to MJN Institute of Oncology and Regional Care Centre, in Hyderabad.
Spoorthi has already had 12 rounds of blood transfusion and 2 rounds of Chemotherapy. To be able to receive the treatment and get her chemotherapy started, Spoorthi has to have a stable platelet count. She went through a lot of fluctuations and the family had to move from pillar to post to arrange for her blood transfusions which happened every alternate day. There have been times when her body couldn’t cope with the transfusions and rejected the blood. Spoorthi was in need of Ab+ positive blood.
Give reached out to Sumalatha at a point when she had already realised that the treatment Spoorthi needs is far beyond her reach. She started a fundraiser on Give to help her gather the necessary funds. “My fundraiser via Give is my only and final hope now. To save my daughter and give her a fair fighting chance against this killer disease, donations online from kind people is my only hope. Even a small donation by people can help me add one more day to my daughter’s life,” says Sumalatha.
Through Give, Sumalatha and her husband have been able to raise close to six lakhs from people who have decided to donate online and stand by them. These people have broken out of the daily rigour of their lives and tried to make a difference in the lives of the unfortunate parents who are dying every day along with their daughter. However, six lakhs is still not enough to give Spoorthi the treatment she deserves, the fundraiser has only been able to complete 30 per cent of its goals till now.
Only when more donors reach out and make a contribution, we will see a greater impact. We at Give have seen the plight of this mother who cannot bear to see her daughter diminish into a ghost of who she actually used to be. We have seen how she is trying with every ounce in her body to create a healthier and sustainable tomorrow for her only daughter. “I would give anything to just see my little Spoorthi smile and play again. She was the symbol of life, full of energy and spirit. And today she is just a shadow of who she used to be, always in pain. I just want to give her a hug to tell her I am always here for her. But, I can’t even do that because she feels pains all through her body. I am so helpless as a mother, I cannot do anything to help my child, but you can. Please help me save my daughter,” cried Sumalatha.
Every minute, every rupee and each and every one of us can make a difference. To help Spoorthi have a fighting chance, donate online to our fundraising campaign. Every small donation will lead to a positive change. Help Spoorthi have a fuller and longer life. Donate online on Give Fundraisers to Sponsor her treatment.
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