Published: June 10, 2012 08:34 IST |
Updated: June 10, 2012 08:34 IST
Feroz Khan's toothy smile is infectious and his courage, awesome. For
the past seven years, he has been in and out of hospitals, determined to
fight a disease that saps the energy out of him.
At the age of 12, Feroz began falling ill frequently. He was diagnosed
with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ordinarily referred to as
lupus. It is an inflammatory, auto-immune disease that affects nearly
every organ in the body, and the central nervous system. It could lead
to kidney failure, if the patient is prescribed strong antibiotics and
painkillers frequently.
Feroz's father, I. Razik Fareeth is an auto rickshaw driver and his
mother, Mumtaz, takes tuition to support his treatment cost.
“We hail from Kizhakarai in Ramanathapuram. We were rich then but the
treatment cost has made us poor,” Feroz said. His older brother is a
final-year engineering student in a city college.
In 2009, he developed chronic kidney disease and was admitted to the
Government General Hospital. Doctors suggested renal transplant but
finding a donor was tough. “The only course left was dialysis until I
could find a donor.”
His family could not afford dialysis in private hospitals. He had to
drop out of school. Then, they were directed to TANKER Foundation for
subsidized dialysis in December 2010. It was turning point for him.
Feroz gained confidence and health, and returned to school to finish
class XI.
But the disease returned the next year and he was on a twice-a-week
dialysis regimen. Between December '11 and February '12, he was coached
at home and scored 75.1 per cent in class XII.
“I want to do B.Com and then do a CA. It will take eight more years of study, but I will make it,” 19-year-old Feroz said.
Keywords: kidney disease
Printable version | Jun 10, 2012 1:04:38 PM | http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3509862.ece
Courtesy: The Hindu
Amity India suggests the following link so as to reach this boy:
http://www.batchmates.com/institution/institutelist.aspx?Locationname=Kilakarai&Lcode=10446&partid=9&gclid=CNeKjLGXw7ACFcsa6wodBCVlkQ
