He dreamed to be like Virat Kohli but cancer doesn’t even let him move his arm

“Karthik! Karthik! Karthik!”

The small ground in the outskirts of Thimmapur (a village in Telangana) echoed this cheer. 13-year-old Karthik was racing against other kids from his neighborhood before he slipped and fell down, hurting himself badly. His parents, Lakshmi and Yadagiri were terrified to see him in so much pain. They rushed him to the doctor.

“His right hand was fractured. The doctors had plastered it, but even after three months, his injury didn’t heal. His pain only got worse with each passing day,” Lakshmi tells.

Over the span of weeks, both Lakshmi and Yadagiri took their son to a string of doctors in their hometown where he underwent numerous tests, but no doctor could diagnose his problem. All along, Karthik’s condition kept worsening and reached a point where he couldn’t move his hand.

That’s when, on the recommendation of a local doctor, the parents took him to Hyderabad for treatment. A series of tests revealed that he is suffering from bone cancer. Lakshmi and Yadagiri were devastated. They had a hard time coming to terms with their son’s disease.

“He was about to go to class eight. We were so happy… we didn’t get the chance to get educated, but we wanted our child to study well. However, destiny played its course. Instead of going to school, my son has been lying on his bed, fighting cancer,” Lakshmi cries.

Karthik underwent a few cycles of chemotherapy and wide local excision (WLE), a surgical procedure to remove a small area of diseased or problematic tissue, to reconstruct his arm.

For a 13-year-old teenager, this is one of the worst punishments that life can impose and for his helpless parents, the grief is beyond words.

On most days, Karthik’s rendered motionless because of unbearable pain. He sulks when he sees his friends going to play cricket. He loved Virat Kohli and wanted to be like him, but reality hits him every time he dreams. He cries looking at his hand.

Over the span of a year, Lakshmi and Yadagiri have drained not just emotionally, but financially. The doctors have said Karthik needs another few rounds of adjuvant chemotherapy which will cost Rs 7 lakh ($ 9,220), an amount his father, a daily wager is unable to arrange. Despite all the efforts and sacrifices, he dreads the thought that he’ll have to discontinue his child’s treatment.

“I can’t do anything to help my son. He doesn’t even talk to anyone now. I so want to see him play, laugh, jump around… I don’t know if that’ll ever happen,” Yadagiri cries.

Cancer is threatening Karthik’s life. Your generous contributions can take him out of his pain and help him see a brighter day. Please help him.

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