Bengaluru: For little Sufiyan, doctors empty hearts, pockets

Bengaluru: Diagnosed with a complex, life-long medical condition called Polyglandular Auto Immune Syndrome involving glandular failure, he was admitted to People Tree Hospital 14 days ago. Luck favoured him when the doctors not only operated on him, but also raised a sum of Rs 2.5 lakh to help his poor family cover their son's medical expenses.

“The amount was too much for the parents to afford. We decided to raise the money and managed to cover 90 per cent. For the remaining sum we appealed to the Muslim community, who were sympathetic and contributed. The child is out of danger now but it will take some time for him to be discharged,” said Dr Manju Kedarnath.

Hailing from a small town called Chitradurga, his father, a daily wage labourer in a steel vending factory and his mother a school teacher, went through a harrowing while having to pay his endless hospital bills. This time, however, they turned to People Tree Foundation hospital, who emerged as Sufiyan’s guardian angels and successfully raised funds for him.

A year ago, People Tree started ‘The Little Tree’ Foundation, to raise funds for critically ill children from poor families. “We contacted a lot of friends, family on facebook and whatsapp, through Little Tree to raise this amount for Sufiyan. Our aim is to raise a corpus amount and fund children in need. We have helped 15 kids so far,” said Dr. Kedarnath.

Even after this success, his mother, Rizwana, still has good reason to worry about her son. “This problem will recur again and again. This time we got lucky, but we worry about how we will bear the cost the next time  around. This anxiety has consumed me. We have already lost our daughter a few days ago to the same infection that Sufiyan caught. She died right before my eyes and I had to turn and face my son who was also suffering. I can’t lose him too," she said, her voice heavy with despair.

Despite the odds against him, Sufiyan continues to battle using his willpower and has promised his mother that he will recover. However, his future remains uncertain, unless another miracle comes his way.