“I can’t see his pain anymore, please, please help!”

“Isse ek injection de do… azaad ho jaayega. Tum bhi chutkaara paa jaogi.” (“Just give him an injection… he’ll be free. And so will you.”)

How? How can a mother end her child’s life? Even if he can’t talk. Even if he can’t move. He’s still breathing!

“I still remember the last time Manav called me ‘Maa’… It’s been over three years since I’ve heard his voice.”

My name doesn’t matter. But what I am, is I’m a mother! And this is the story of my precious son, Manav, who is just 14 years old.

At an age when children dream of cricket matches, birthday parties, and school bags with cartoon characters, my son lies on a bed he may never get up from.

His eyes blink, but his lips don’t move. His heart beats, but he can’t speak. His soul is alive, but his body… is slipping away.

Manav has been diagnosed with a cruel, rare, and irreversible disease, Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE). It is caused by a measles virus that stayed hidden in his body… and then slowly, silently, began destroying his brain. This disease takes everything from his memory, his voice, his vision, his movement and it gives him nothing but pain.

“Woh bol nahi sakta, par uski aankhon mein har sawaal hai, ‘Maa, mere saath aisa kyun hua?’”

 (“He can’t speak, but his eyes keep asking me, ‘Maa, why did this happen to me?”)

In the last three years, my boy has not spoken a single word. Not “Maa.” Not “Pani.” Not even “Help.”

But he cries… every day. And every night. Sometimes silently, sometimes with shaking limbs. And I… I hold him close like I used to when he was a baby.

But now, my lullabies can’t ease his pain. He always wanted to be a soldier. He used to play with sticks and pretend they were guns, salute our flag. But now, my brave little soldier is fighting a war inside his own body, and losing.

We are poor. Very poor. I’ve begged, borrowed, and fallen at people’s feet to keep his treatment going.

But now… I have nothing left. Not even food sometimes. I’ve sold my everything and still, it isn’t enough.

“Main har din toot jaati hoon, lekin uske liye khud ko jod leti hoon.” (“I break every single day, but for him, I pull myself back together.”)

Sometimes he just stares at the ceiling, motionless. Sometimes his body shakes uncontrollably. And every time, I sit beside him, helpless… just praying,

“Please God, if not a cure, then at least let his pain stop.”

But prayers alone can’t pay for treatment. I’ve done everything I can… Now, I’m asking you.

Will you help me keep my son alive? My child didn’t choose this pain. He doesn’t deserve this ending.

At 14, he deserves dreams, not darkness. He deserves school, not suffering. Please…

Help me give him even a chance to fight. Help me hold on to him just a little longer. “Aapki madad uski zindagi ki sabse badi dawai ban sakti hai.” (“Your help could be the biggest medicine in his life”)

Because without you… I might lose him – cries Manava’s helpless mother.

Note: Manav’s entire treatment will cost about 12 lakhs! Manav is running out of time. He didn’t deserve this. As long as you donate, there is still hope. Manav and his entire family relies on your support. Donate now!