(Patna) “When my daughter was a month old, we found out that she had a rare blood disorder, and that the only cure was a bone-marrow transplant. We had to go to a specialised hospital in a different city for treatment. The doctors told us that she would be treated after she turned two years old. Until the transplant was carried out, we took her to hospital every month for blood transfusion. I saw the fear in her eyes every time we entered the hospital premises because the transfusion was very painful for her. She would cry relentlessly and wouldn’t climb the stairs to go into the doctor’s room. We grown-up’s get scared about injections so obviously she gets scared even more.
A child’s birth is the happiest moment in any parent’s life, and a parent does everything for their child’s well being and happiness. But to see the same child in pain is very difficult. We just thank god for giving us such a beautiful daughter. She is very playful and doesn’t show any sign of being anemic. Overall she is very healthy. So we thank God that things are not worse. The ailment could have been something untreatable but thankfully it was not so.
We waited two years for her bone marrow transplant. Everyday, we watched her struggle and struggled ourselves over her pain. Our coping with the situation was difficult too because the doctors had informed us that while the transplant was successful in most cases, sometimes the children don’t survive.
During the course of her check-up, I saw many children who didn’t survive the transplant. The stress of watching all that was unbearable and endless. Last year, my daughter was admitted for treatment. She survived the transplant but she still had to be protected from infection. We were confined to just one room and for months lived in complete isolation. But all that is in the past. She is now back home and is healthy.”