Ojal is missed, so so much !!

It has been almost two years since Ojal (Tuju, that’s the name she was called in the family) -- our only daughter-- left us with all her memories. Anaplastic Ependymoma (Grade – III), ?I remember the day when hospital attendant called me around 8 o’clock in evening and informed that Ojal’s biopsy report is now available, now I can go to the doctor’s office to take a look, that’s where I came to know this medical term from that report first time. I walked in the doctor’s office, it was late evening so? only doctor’s assistant, she handed over the report to me, I had a quick scan, then anxiously asked her while holding the report in my trembling hands – is everything all right, is she going to be OK, if she is diagnosed with something which is it treatable? – I asked all these in a flow. ?Well, she said, yea, she will be fine, but a shred of doubt surfaced in my mind when she said this but not while looking towards me. In the very same night when we google and read about it, … My God!!

?Ojal was absolutely a fine she would do all daily life routines till a few days ago and now we came to know that she has a terrible and deadly disease. Anaplastic Ependymoma is a kind of brain cancerous tumor, probably one of worst which gives its victim for a few years of survival. We might have met about 25-30 medical doctors during her treatment in about 5 years of her survival, having known her illness everyone would ask do you have another child !! ??

I was so reluctant to believe about the survival statistics when read a few medical journals, and then I stopped reading about it as it started giving me more distress than knowledge. I tried hard to stop bringing the word “cancer” in my mind. I somehow convinced myself that if know less would probably help me to keep the unpleasant thoughts away. But, seems everything was scripted, no matter what you do if something has to happen will happen.

More can be read - https://www.c3pc.org/post/ojal-story

Just about month ago I was shared by a friend of mine Santosh Anand about another similar incident which happened to a senior of mine from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur , Niranjan Vaish has written all about it that happened to his only daughter on his blog posted on LinkedIn.

?https://journeyofmyfamily.wordpress.com/2024/01/15/our-journey/

When, I was reading the journey of his to some extent i found i am reading mine. IIT K alumni, only daughter, brain tumor, wife's (child's mother) name "Amita", besides that if something else may have been even more common is, "pain"!.

Sometime, I think, cancer is a disease that hurts individuals of all age but to children it hurts even more. While in adults there might be a little bit of satisfaction with the fact that at least the they have lived some happy years of their lives, but children, they just have started living and they have to fight against tyranny of the this disease.

So much research has to be promoted to combat the evil of cancer which is taking many innocent lives. I see only research and awareness can only prevent our children and give them long and good quality life. I believe if there was a treatment and medicine for cure for cancer existed Ojal and Paavni like brilliant children would not have to leave this word this way!!

Precisely this reason I took an initiative of C3PC RESEARCH FOUNDATION to promote research and awareness in childhood (or children's) cancer about 2 years ago (just 4 months before Ojal left us) inspired by many foundations like Children's Brain Tumor Foundation , Children's Cancer Center Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium Children's Cancer Institute Prinses Máxima Centrum voor kinderoncologie Some days ago I discovered that CanKids KidsCan has been very instrumental with similar objectives in India for over one decade.