A mother is pleading for assistance to give her 3-year-old daughter a chance at life after she was diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia in March and is undergoing treatment in India.
Severe aplastic anaemia is a serious condition where the bone marrow, which is responsible for making blood cells, does not produce enough new blood cells.
It can be life-threatening if not treated, and treatment often involves blood transfusions, medications, or a bone marrow transplant.
Vihaana’s mother Madhvi Poonam says her daughter was the most energetic, inquisitive, bubbly toddler you would have ever met.
Poonam says she loved to dance, to colour and to 'help' around the house as toddlers do.
She says Vihaana was well until January this year when they noticed she developed spontaneous bruising and red spots on her feet and stomach following a mild viral infection.
The mother says she was admitted at the Lautoka Hospital multiple times for investigation as well as blood transfusions and was suspected of having aplastic anaemia however referred abroad for further specialist investigations and to confirm the diagnosis and plan treatment.
Poonam says she and her husband arrived in India with Vihaana on the 9th of March and after a thorough investigation at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Vihaana was diagnosed as having very severe aplastic anaemia.
The mother says she has been admitted on multiple occasions for blood (red cells and platelets) transfusions and twice for blood infection (neutropenic sepsis).
She says Vihaana had bone marrow transplant done in April and was doing fairly well until about a month later when her blood counts dropped after a febrile episode where the doctors diagnosed her as having secondary graft failure and after consulting other specialists in the field informed them that this was a "do-or-die" situation and recommended a second salvage transplant.
Poonam says while this was being planned, Vihaana got critically ill with fever and had to be admitted to the Bone Marrow Tansplant ICU and with very minimal time, the family decided to proceed with the second transplant in order to give their daughter a fighting chance at life, which was done on the 7th of June.
She says Vihaana had developed several life-threatening complications after her second transplant and was hospitalized for over 3-months.
She says Vihaana fought all odds and was eventually discharged after 90 days with close follow up in an outpatient basis where she did quite well and was without blood transfusions for a month.
The mother says they were hoping to get back to Fiji for Diwali this year, however Vihaana got admitted for pneumonia a week ago and this has triggered her prior complication relating to the marrow transplant which required specialized medications to be imported.
Poonam says unfortunately, Vihaana's multiple and prolonged hospitalizations and 7 and half months in India have really taken a toll on their finances where the most recent hospital running bill is approximately $22,000.
Poonam says they have done fundraising in their capacity and received some assistance from NGOs and their extended family but the cost of treatment and medications unfortunately superseded whatever donations they managed to collect.
The mother says they are really appreciative of everyone who had contributed previously and seek everyone's generosity and support one final time to cover Vihaana's medical expenses and give her a second chance at life and to get her back home safely with loved ones.
She says she is a doctor based at Lautoka and the worst feeling in the world - being on the other side is to see your child suffer and being helpless and unable to do much.
Poonam says her hope for her daughter is that she recovers from this recent infection and they are able to come safely.
The family needs $40,000 to save their daughter's life.
If you want to help Vihaana come home safely, you can give send money to her father Vashneel Prasad's BSP bank account number 81265112 with the swift code BOSPFJFJ or to Poonam's Westpac bank account number 9801895633 with the swift code WPACFJFX.
You can also donate via their GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/e06b1477 or givealittle.co.nz page https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/ray-of-sunshine-for-baby-vihaana
You can also send money via M-PAiSA on 9201105.
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