Mumbai is one the most loved cities in
India. Its always bustling, moving and full of oomph and vitality. I fell in
love with the city when I first visited it as a child. In 2003 when I came to
settle down in the city what struck me was the high energy and warmth of the
city – a city that speaks to you! A city that let’s you be! A city that makes
you dream … and dream BIG! A city that makes you say YES to life!
But lately it has fallen in the hands of a
few communities and individuals who keeps saying NO to everything – no to beef,
no to non-veg during Paryushan, no to cancer kids‼ Alarming.
Lets focus on the cancer kids for today
since September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
The NGO, Access Life, is an initiative that provides shelter to outstation
cancer afflicted children and their parents.
The NGO provides free food & shelter to them from an bungalow in
Chembur. Access Life has been facing problems with the bungalow and other
housing societies because nobody wants to rent their space out to them. The
reason??? ‘Poor cancer kids wearing masks can be very traumatic for other kids in
a posh society‼‼ Seriously???? Such derogatory and low life mindset.
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| Article from Mumbai Mirror |
Here is the link to the article in case you find it difficult to read from the uploaded image
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Homes-hearts-shut-for-kids-with-cancer/articleshow/47994478.cms
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Homes-hearts-shut-for-kids-with-cancer/articleshow/47994478.cms
Let me tell you what kids with jumbo
diseases can do. They freaking INSPIRE you. And their inspiration come in super
jumbo sizes … much much bigger than the ordeals they are facing. They inspire
you to live, they inspire you to fight, they inspire you to welcome happiness,
they inspire you to laugh, they inspire you to be yourself ‼! I came across 3
amazing kids in the Hiranandani Hospital, Powai who have inspired me in many
ways. Lemme tell you about these angels.
The first angel am going to speak about I
never met. I could only hear her voice in the ICU. I shuddered when I first heard
her voice … what is a child doing in an ICU? My heart went out to her each time
she would cry or tell her parents to take her home. I remember I once cried for
her. Each time I would pray for myself I would simultaneously pray for her too.
She may not be my child but a child is a child. I later learnt that one of her
kidneys had failed and her mother was the donor. And the angel is only 8 years old! What she
motivated me do is to become an organ donor. On my birthday I registered for
organ donation. I just had to do it for
her. Without her I don’t think I would have taken the step. May God bless her
with good health and happiness always.
The 2nd child I met was a bubbly
pretty 14 year old. During my 3rd chemo session her mother was my
roommate. She was under going a gall bladder stone operation and this spot of
cuteness would come to visit her mom everyday. The little one is suffering for
a rare diseases called Lupus Disease. Its an autoimmune disease – a condition
in which the body mistakes its own healthy tissues as foreign invaders. As a result
the body wrongly attacks its own cells, which leads to inflammation and damage
to various body tissues. Lupus also affects many parts of the body including
joints, skin, heart, lungs, blood vessels and brain. This beautiful angel
already has thyroid and cant step out in the sun from 8am to 7pm! Can you beat
that! Her mom has made special clothes for her to step out in the sun while
going to school and leading a normal life. The first time I met her I had no
clue about her condition – she came across like any normal child. Laughing,
arguing with her younger brother, enjoying my doodles, talking to me and my
family. What she taught me was to
WELCOME LIFE! BE A FIGHTER! DRINK LIFE TO THE LEASE! Her ordeal is life long,
while mine is temporary. What an inspiration. I always remember her smile and
zest for life each time I feel low or feel like cribbing! She just does not let
me give up on my ordeal. God bless this beautiful soul forever. May she have
the most wonderfullest life ever.
The next child I met was the quintessential
Denis the Menace. Naughty to the core. This 8 year old is a blood cancer
patient who is under going chemo. I
first saw him while waiting for my appointment with my oncologist. We share the
same oncologist. He was supposed to meet the oncologist just before me. But he
had vanished. He hid himself, fooling his mom by saying the AC in the waiting
area is too low and they should go and sit in the waiting area of the single rooms,
which was nearby. The nurses went mad looking for him … they searched the
entire hospital for half and hour. They went up and down the elevator some 2-3
times. While our Denis was watching the fun form the other side of the glass
door. After half an hour he announced to the nurses ‘mein yaha hoon’ ( I am
here!). Lol! He drove the nurses mad when they would come to insert the ivy in
his chemo port. He purposely gave them grief and threw tantrums, which even the
head chemo nurse had to adhere to. He even doodled on the entire hospital bed
sheet once. He is the life of the Day Care Centre at Hiranandani Hospital,
Powai. What I learnt from him was to laugh and take life on a stride. There is
humor & fun in every corner of life … you just have to look around and
embrace! And yes … sometimes its fun to drive people up the wall and watch the
fun ;)
These children were wonderful and
thankfully I don’t get to see them at the hospital anymore. They must be happy
going to school, laughing with their friends and driving their parents up the
wall. That’s what children are suppose to do. They are God’s angels.
But then there are some people who reject
cancer children. I fail to understand why. Why are we behaving like some
heartless, brainless, spineless morons! Today children are smart … smarter than
us biased adults. If they can dance to a ‘Sheila ki jawani’ song then they are
absolutely mature enough to handle cancer-afflicted children. As parents we
just have to explain them how brave these fighters are. These warriors
should be an inspiration for other children in the society. But then we adults are
prejudiced. We are hypocrites. We believe in the fake, the frivolous, the Page3
culture.
Cant we just rise above slightly from our
murky mindset and be a little human. Cant we just be a bit more considerate and
share a bit of our happiness & lives with these cancer afflicted children?
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| Lets show our heart to them! |
Incase you want to help and volunteer in some way and make a difference here are some details of Access Life.
Here is the website of Access Life NGO in Mumbai
http://www.accesslife.org/
The contact details of Access Life:
Access Life Assistance Foundtion,
6, Jolly Land CHS, Ghatla Village Road,
Chembur East,
Mumbai - 400071
Maharashtra, India
Phone: +91 22 2521 2511
Email: Contact@accesslife.org
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| Cancer afflicted children at Access Life |
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| Cancer afflicted children at Access Life |
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