Arham, a one year old who has never seen life without pain

“My son, Arham, has been suffering since the day he was born. As a single mother all I do is pray every day and every night for a miracle that my son gets better. He is all I have.

Children his age are learning how to laugh and crawl, here I see my child learning to live with pain. There is not a single day or night when he is comfortable. He cries often, especially at night, and all I can do is hold him close and pray that his suffering goes away.

My son was born with craniofacial malformation that has created a deformity near his lip and eye. There is constant swelling near his eyes and the severe pain never seems to leave. He struggles to eat and sleep and sometimes drinking milk becomes horribly painful for him. It hurts him all time and he has no idea how it feels to be ok. 

Arhan’s father and I do not live together. He is a daily-wage labourer and earns around Rs 400–500 a day. He  never comes home to ask about his son or offer financial assistance in any way. He also struggles with alcohol addiction and gambling. The truth is me and my child are alone in this world. I am a single mother in a man’s world with a child who has a rare deformity.

We live at my mother’s house now. I am a homemaker and also do small embroidery work at a nearby shop. All of my earning goes into managing our daily expenses. Some days, it is even difficult to arrange proper food. But I never give up. 

The doctors at the Ganesh hospital have given me a ray of hope that an urgent surgery that would cost about 4 lakh rupees can help my son get rid of his suffering. But no matter how hard I work, I cannot earn enough to afford my child’s treatment.

Every morning I wake up with this hope that “koi toh hoga jo mere bache ki madad karega” (someone will surely help my kid). Every night, I go to sleep holding my crying child and repeating the same prayer.

The doctors have assured us that with proper surgery and treatment he can live a normal life. A life full of laughter, peace and happiness. But there is no way we can afford that treatment by ourselves. 

I don’t want anything for myself. All I hope is for my child to get better and have a normal life. 

He is all I have. He is my world. 

If you are reading this, I am asking you as a mother, please support my child to live a pain-free life. Your donations will give my child a chance to live a better life.”