Komal Patel, who runs Green Trading, an online organic store, with her husband Rohan, talks about her experiences when their seven-year-old boy was detected with leukaemia
What has been the most difficult phase of your life so far?
When I came to know that my son, Chinmay, had Leukaemia and the doctors told me to give him a good time.
He was 7 years and 10 months old and was on student visa when he got diagnosed. He was here with his dad and I was back in India. He had fever and sore legs. So he was taken to a local GP and he suspected of Meningococcal disease and immediately reffered to Starship Hospital’s emergency department.
They admitted him immediately, and he was diagnosed with leukaemia the same day. He was kept in isolation overnight and the very next morning they started his treatment.
He was on student visa, and the insurance provider didn’t want to send him to India for treatment, as it will cost a lot.
What did you do to overcome it?
In a few days I came to Auckland. We struggled a lot with his treatment, especially to get a perfect match bone marrow.
In India, there are no bone marrow banks. The Indian hospitals don’t do bone marrow transplant. So they asked us not to come to India as it will be dangerous for my son to travel with that condition. When he was diagnosed, the disease has spread up to 98 per cent.
Doctors told that if we cannot find exact match, then a sibling can donate bone marrow. We registered here for bone marrow transplant. My son was so lucky that we found exact 100 per cent match soon and moreover, it was stem cell bone marrow.
Our son had a successful transplant. But his pain didn’t end there. For about four years he suffered from a lot of pain and severe health conditions. His body cells were trying to fit in with the new bone marrow.
He was on morphine and steroids. But he stayed positive all the time and we did too. We didn’t lose hope. We stayed positive, wove colourful dreams with our son and tried to keep to regular routines.
Where do you see yourself going from here?
Life is much better after the changes we've made in our day-to-day living. We make almost all necessary things at home. Initially, our children refused to use them, but then they saw theeffectiveness and now they are happily using them.
We are trying to help others through our online organic store called Green Trading. It started after we experienced the positivity of all the things I made for my family. Living with nature and using natural products is a better way to heal yourself. It is good to leave nice example for the future generation.
My son is now in good health and trying to give back to the community all that he received when he was unwell. He is 19 now. He still has some health issue which he’ll have for life and have to take care of.
For the past one year he is living in India and engaging in social work there. After finishing his school, we took his class and their teacher to India and they worked for slum-children in Gandhi Ashram, Gujarat. It was nice to see young adults happily working for little children and teaching them new skills.
What has been the most important lesson learnt - that you would like to share with the readers?
Difficult times seem longer, but they soon become a memory. Sometimes things happen to change you for good. We're very grateful for the changes in our life. Stay positive, things will improve. Even if they don’t improve, they definitely teach you a lesson. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.