Teen with bone cancer appears for SSC exam days before his leg gets amputated

Rehan writes his exam after his friends

Trombay resident Rehan Mohammed Yusuf Shaikh, 16, is in the middle of his SSC exams, but life is putting him through another test - he has been diagnosed with bone cancer in his left leg, which now has to be amputated to stop the disease from spreading further. Despite the diagnosis, he has decided to appear for his exams before going in for surgery. His mother and friends are taking him to school for his papers. Rehan's father was recently discharged from hospital after an asthma attack.

SSC first
Rehan was diagnosed with the disease just two days ago. When he went for his tuition classes, he developed unbearable pain in his left leg and fainted. Diagnosis revealed he had developed bone cancer in his left leg. Later, he was admitted to KJ Somaiya hospital, where he continued studying. His doctor has recommended amputating his left leg before the cancer spreads to other parts of the body. But before that happens, Rehan wants to complete his exams.

Help him to reach the exam centre. Pics/Sameer Markande

His mother Shabana said, "My son has studied hard for the exam; his dream is to be an engineer. When he was admitted to the hospital, he used to study and travel to the centre from there. Even though his doctor asked him to undergo the surgery at the earliest, he refused to do so until he got done with his exams."

School steps in
He took discharge from the hospital around five days ago to study properly at home. In the meantime, the family is running from pillar to post to raise R5 lakh for his surgery. "My husband is also extremely ill and just got discharged on Wednesday. My elder son, who is 19, works at a local bag-making shop, so we don't have the money for his surgery," said Shabana.

Looking at Rehan's determination, his school teachers have come forward to help him with his treatment. The school has raised over R86,000 so far for his surgery. "The school has promised to help us in raising the money for his treatment. They have also put it on the notice board, but we are yet to receive the money," she added.

Speaking to mid-day, Azra Hakim Khan, principal of Ideal High School, said, "Rehan is extremely obedient. He is also very active in sports. So, when we got to know about his condition, all schoolteachers came together to donate money. This helped us to raise R86,650 till Thursday. We will give them however much they need for their travel expenses, and once the hospital fixes a line of treatment for him, we will give the money in their name."

Rs 5 lakh
Amount required for Rehan's surgery

Rs 86.65k
Money raised by Rehan's school so far

Also read: Year after open heart surgery, Mumbai girl scores 76.40 pc in SSC

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