A Father’s Journey, A Son’s Healing: Arif’s Battle with Blood Cancer

It all started in mid september 2022 when Arif started falling ill with slight temperature and mouth swelling and was given conservative treatment however there was no significant change. Arif stopped eating and playing and his illness got worse day by day , this was when his parents decided to visit a local doctor in Larkana. After being treated with regular medicines for 2 months in Larkana , there was no improvement felt and Arif was taken to Lahore where he was admitted in Sheikh Zayed Hospital. For four days , Arif was given blood drips regularly but belonging to a financially unstable background where his father worked as a labourer they could not afford the 4000 rupees bill that was given to them. Life took a 360 turn for Bashir and his family when he was sent to Gumbat for treatment and he got diagnosed with Blood cancer there, “Hamesha baro kai cancer ka sunna tha , pata bhe nahi thi yeh beemari bacho mai hojati hai”, Bashir spoke. On the recommendation of a doctor in Gumbat , Bashir left for Karachi along his wife and two sons , leaving his 5 kids in the care of his brother in Larkana. The family arrived in karachi the same night, 6th December around 4am where they took a stop at a small local tea shop , this was their first visit to Karachi and therefore they had no idea where Indus Hospital was located . Upon asking a rickshaw driver , they were told that he will charge 700 rupees to take them to Indus Hospital , as this amount was too much for them to bear they denied and continued to stay at the tea shop in dismay until an hour later when a generous rickshaw driver offered to take them in 100 rupees. Around 6am , the family arrived at Indus hospital and was guided about the complete treatment by the staff there. After check up , family was informed that Arif will get admitted for a month , that entire month the family stayed at Indus and spent the nights on footpaths. Some time later , Bashir was informed about Kashmir Colony where he was given a room to stay with his family and to this date they live there. Arif is now towards recovery and the family is very grateful and completely satisfied with the services of Indus Hospital. They look forward to go back to their hometown and reunite with their family as soon as Arifs treatment is completed. “Admi khud acha hai tou sab acha lagta hai , shakayat hamay sirf apnay app sai hai” Bashir quoted.