Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

It is a battle against odds for this family

Thiruvananthapuram: At the age of 22, when her friends are enjoying life to the hilt, C.R. Resmi is waging a battle against severe odds. The nursing student who has just completed her course is struggling to cope with the tragedy that has befallen her family. She has to fend for her ailing mother and brother, both undergoing treatment for cancer.

Resmi does not know where the money for the costly treatment will come from. But she is not prepared to give in to a cruel fate. She is hopeful that good-hearted people would come to the aid of the suffering family.

The family’s plight started when Resmi’s mother Radha was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy at the Regional Cancer Centre here and is currently undergoing radiotherapy. The costly treatment left the BPL family drained.

But a more terrible fate awaited the family. Resmi’s brother C.R. Renjith, 24, suddenly developed fever. He was referred to the RCC where he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a type of blood cancer. According to doctors, the chances of recovery for a post-adolescence AML patient is 30 to 40 per cent. The treatment requires frequent hospitalisation.

The family has had to mortgage its small plot of land at Pathanamthitta to secure an educational loan for Resmi. The expensive treatment for the mother and son consumed all of their meagre savings. Back home in Pathanamthitta, Resmi’s father is running from pillar to post in a bid to arrange some financial assistance. Renjith, meanwhile, depends on periodic blood transfusion. Doctors have started chemotherapy but with the treatment estimated to cost over Rs.3 lakh, the family is running out of options. A bone marrow transplant may push up the cost by Rs.5 to 10 lakh.

The family’s effort to secure assistance from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund has failed to evoke a response.

Resmi is awaiting donations to her account no. 30313070797 at the Pathanamthitta branch of the State Bank of India.

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