“You made me bald, dad! All my friends are going to make fun of me because of you,” said 10-year-old Mahi the first time she saw herself in the mirror after we shaved her head. “Mahi cried her eyes out the first time,” recounts her father Vijay Tapke, “Absolutely nothing seemed to calm her down. Since last November, Mahi has been suffering from blood cancer.”
Vijay talks about how Mahi has found some solace in a wig, amidst painful chemotherapy sessions and unending doses of medicines. When she fell asleep, one of the nurses placed a wig on her head. “When she woke up, we held a mirror in front of her, her eyes lit up and she gave me a tight hug. The hair length of the wig is longer than her real hair, so now she spends most of her time adjusting her hair in different styles,” Vijay says, managing a smile as he fights tears.
Vijay Tapke is a farmer by profession and he lives with his family in Akola. There is only one way for his family to survive, he has to work in the fields back home in Akola.
“So from Monday to Friday, I work in the fields till the sun goes down and I come to Mumbai to meet Mahi and her mother on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday nights are difficult for all of us - I wait for Mahi to fall asleep because watching me leave always makes her cry, and it’s impossible to make her stop once she starts crying.”
Vijay says that so far, Mahi’s treatment has cost him Rs. 1 lakh, for which he had to dip into his savings: “When I fell short of money, I got help from my relatives. But now I’ve hit rock bottom, as I need an additional amount of Rs. 5 lakh to continue my Mahi’s treatment.”
Vijay Tapke is a poor farmer who is struggling to pay for his daughter’s cancer treatment. You can help him save his daughter’s life by donating to his fundraiser.
For Vijay, Diwali is not the same festival any more, because it was on Diwali day last year when this dreadful disease knocked on the doors of his happy family. “I remember Mahi fell down sometime around Dussehra. She cried a lot because all her friends had gone to see the burning of Ravana's effigy but she couldn’t, due to the nagging pain in her elbow. When her pain persisted, we took her to the orthopedic. After a few days, to our horror, that elbow swelling turned into severe pus. Mahi could not move her elbow the entire time. When her situation got worse, we decided to shift her to a bigger hospital in Mumbai.”
In Mumbai, she was diagnosed with cancer.
Mahi knows she has cancer but she doesn’t understand the seriousness of the disease and how her family is praying for her life every day. The nurses can never find her vein easily, so that leads to multiple pricks on her tiny hand. She’s terrified of injections and she often begs her parents to take her home. But she does not have a choice. She’s received 2 cycles of chemotherapy and needs 4 more. According to the doctors, the treatment has to continue for at least 2.5 years for the cancer to leave her body.
“It’s painful to see my daughter go through so much at such a young age. I want to rescue her from the pain and suffering before it’s too late. And the only way to do that is by gathering Rs. 5 lakh - an amount that I can’t even dream of achieving by myself. I’m in desperate need of help. Please help me save my daughter - I’ll not be able to cope if anything happens to her,” pleads Vijay.
You can help Vijay by donating to his fundraiser on Ketto here.
This campaign is hosted by The News Minute in association with Ketto.