Family reaches out for aid for boy suffering from rare disease:-

There is an air of despair at the residence of the Pandit family. "I lost a two-year-old son earlier. I hesitated to have another child since I am haunted by the trauma of his death. But I am facing the same situation again," says Mukta Pandit, mother of 11-month-old Amogh, who is one of the unfortunate few affected by a fatal disease.


Amogh is suffering from the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, which affects four in a million births. The family had lost their first son, Varad, two years back to the same rare disease. It was too late by the time the Pandit family could make any attempts to save him.


Mukta got herself tested to rule out the possibility of transferring or a genetic predisposition of the disease to her second child. However, much to the woe of the Pandits, Amogh showed the same symptoms of Wiskott-Aldrich within two months of birth.


They approached Apollo Hospital in Chennai where the total medical expense amounts to Rs 30 lakh approximately, as stem cell transplantation is the only option. The family is resolute in its fight to save Amogh, but is being held back by a financial crunch.


Amogh's father Shantanu Pandit, a financial adviser, said, "I will be selling all our assets to collect the funds, but cost of treatment is still too high. Every parent knows how it feels to lose their child and I want to reach out to people because this is a genuine request to all that we have been through a lot."


"Many times due to the problem of eczema he bleeds profusely, we have to constantly check his platelet counts or he may die within hours. We are inviting people to understand our condition and help us give our son a new life," he added.


Amogh's treatment is scheduled for mid-September and this time the family has also found a suitable donor for him, but the high medical expenses have burdened them.


Paediatrician Dr Milind Mandlik told TOI, "The earlier he gets cured the better it is. If he develops an infection or if there is internal bleeding, it may become difficult to treat him. If the stem cell transplant is successful then the problem should never recur all through his life."


Shantanu said that many people have empathized with their plight and volunteered to provide financial assistance. Any monetary help can be extended in the form of a cheque to APOLLO SPECIALITY HOSPITAL - AMOGH 197048.