After four years of suffering dialysis and watching the treatment drain her family’s resources, 18-yeaar-old Afreen Begum may finally breathe easy. Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K Taraka Rama Rao, has come forward to help.
Afreen Begum has been undergoing dialysis for the past four years and has been advised to undergo a kidney transplant at the earliest. However, because of financial constraints that was not possible.
Rao’s intervention came about on Twitter. Siasat, a Hyderabad-based media house, created a video about Afreen’s condition and uploaded the video on YouTube on Aug 2, 2016.
A weeping Afreen in the video said, “I am unable to bear the pain and I want to recover soon.” She also said “My brothers work hard and earn money for our family. But all the money is being spent on my treatment.”
The Twitter handle Preying Eyes tagged the Urban Development Minister on August 3. In an immediate Twitter response, Rao said, “We will get the transplantation done in NIMS.”
We will get the transplant done in NIMS https://t.co/g1kNc3Hhqk
— KTR (@KTRTRS) 3 August 2016
Afreen’s family has managed to raise Rs 4 lakh of the total surgery cost of Rs 7 lakh. They raised some of the money through appeals to acquaintances during Ramzan.
Afreen’s mother Fatima will donate her kidney. As her condition is stable, doctors have scheduled the surgery in a week’s time.
They know hope that Afreen will soon be well.