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Expat family faces tragic test yet again

by REJIMON K
January 29, 2013 , 10 : 49 pm | 1 comment

Pic: Supplied

Muscat: An Indian family in Sur is seeking the help of kind-hearted people to get medical treatment for their second son, who has been suffering from aplastic anaemia for the last six years. Aplastic anaemia is a condition where the bone marrow does not produce enough new blood cells to replace the old ones.

"Our first son, Vishnu, died of the same disease at the age of 11 years in 2002. Our second son has been suffering from this disease for the last six years," Vijayan and Mini, the parents of Vishak (picture on right), told Times of Oman. "We had to spend a lot of money on Vishnu's treatment. We had to sell everything we had, but we couldn't rescue him. After his death, our second son, Vishak, was also afflicted by the disease. We have been trying our best to rescue him. But I am financially broken now. We don't know what to do," the parents said.

They had spent at least Rs 200,000 (OMR1,431) on the treatment of their elder son, who had also suffered from heart ailments. "When he passed away, we thought everything would be okay. But it was a huge shock to find out that the younger one had the same disease. I was not ready to give up. I tried my best. But now, I am not able to raise funds for Vishak's treatment. I am just a tailor. How much money can I make by pedalling the sewing machine?"

Vijayan asked before leaving for his hometown in the South-Indian state of Kerala for a
short visit. Since the parents lack the money for the bone-marrow replacement surgery, they have scheduled dialysis treatments twice a month at a hospital in Kerala. "We need almost Rs.20,000 (OMR143) for the dialysis and other medicines. We don't know for how long we will be able to continue it," Mini said.

Emergency
Meanwhile, the medics are insisting on an emergency bone-marrow replacement surgery to save Vishak's life. "If the bone marrow of either parent matches Vishak's, then we will be able to do it at a cheaper rate of Rs.1500,000 (OMR10,792.07)," a medic from India stated.

"If the bone marrow does not match, then the parents will have to find a donor and will have to complete the legal procedures for the surgery. If they have to get it from a donor, then the surgery will cost around Rs.2500,000 (OMR17,986.78)," the medic added.

Meanwhile, social workers in Sur with the help of a few kind-hearted people are currently funding the dialysis treatments. "We are doing our part. But to meet the surgery expenses, a coordinated effort is needed," Shajahan, an Indian consular agent in Sur, said.

For more details, contact Shajahan MAK at the Indian Consulate in Sur on 99317326 or Vinod Panicker, chief patron of the Times of Oman Reader's Club on 99414153.

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