13-Year-Old Eshal Is Fighting the Illness That Took His Sister, Only Urgent Transplant Can Save Him Now

Eshal was 5 months old when he began to undergo painful transfusions. Every month, needles would go in and out of his soft skin. When he went cycling with his friends, he would stop after a short distance and come back home crying. He couldn’t keep up with them - at school, at the park, at the ground - anywhere. He wasn’t like them. This dangerous blood disease has made him weak. And today, at 13, he waits for a miracle that can save him and make him like the other children.

Little Eshal was diagnosed with the same disease that had claimed his sister’s life 

Many years ago, Thalassemia - a blood disorder that causes the body to produce less blood - had claimed the life of Eshal’s elder sister who was only 2. A few years later, when Eshal was born with the same illness, the parents were devastated. Afraid that he, too, would be taken away from them, they did everything in their power to take care of him.

“It pained us to hear his screams when he went for a transfusion. He was only a baby. It became a routine. He’d go in, scream, cry and protest before becoming quiet. After his transfusion, we would take him anywhere he wanted to go and get him anything he wanted. That was the only way we could make him forget his pain. He has had more than 100 transfusions. He is 13 now. All we want is for him to live longer.” - Ediga Hanumantha, father

Unable to go to school, unable to play and dance, little Eshal’s life is a nightmare

“At family gatherings, he sees boys and girls his age running around the hall squealing with laughter. He can’t take his eyes off them. He attempts to go to them, but within minutes he comes back to me, teary eyed. He hates missing school, but he is not able to go every day. He loves dancing, but he can’t. His body can’t keep up with his dreams, he knows. And yet he tries, again and again…” - Ediga, Padmavathi, mother, sobbing.

Only a stem cell transplant can save Eshal, but…

Currently, Eshal undergoes transfusion every 20 days. The only cure to his disease is an urgent stem cell transplant. The procedure costs 30 lakh rupees including hospitalisation, chemotherapy and transfusions. But his parents are struggling to afford it. You can be Eshal’s miracle.