mid-day impact: After reports on 13-year-old Summaya Shaikh's plight, Mumbai's Lilavati hospital says that they will also help raise funds for transplant
Shraddha Kapoor with Summaya Shaikh
mid-day's reports on an ailing 13-year-old's wish to meet her favourite actor and their subsequent meeting, have come as a blessing for the teen suffering from tuberculosis, who also needs a liver transplant. Following the reports, Lilavati Hospital has offered to help her with the transplant as well as raise funds for it.
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The offer has come as a ray of hope for Summaya Shaikh's family, which has been desperately trying to raise funds for the surgery. Summaya is undergoing treatment at the civic-run KEM hospital for third-stage tuberculosis which has affected her liver. The transplant will cost around Rs 30 lakh. She had expressed what could be her last wish, that of meeting Shraddha Kapoor. An online crowdfunding portal, Ketto, through which the family is trying to raise funds, tweeted it and the actor had replied, saying she would like to meet Summaya. She met her on Tuesday.
Lilavati doctor's call
DR PV Battalwar, additional medical superintendent of Lilavati Hospital, contacted this reporter on Wednesday after the articles about this were published in mid-day. "We have read the articles and are ready to help this patient with the liver transplant. We will help them raise the funds through our in-house social workers for the surgery," he said. Summaya's father, Shaikh Saleem Mohd Hussain, is a taxi driver whose daily income is only R500. He has no savings. The family has been running from pillar-to-post to raise funds for the surgery. This generous offer from the hospital has brought them relief.
Summaya Shaikh with her mother
Speaking to mid-day, an overwhelmed Hussain said, "My daughter is fighting two deadly diseases and we are unable to help due to financial constrains. I sold all our jewellery to raise money for her, but failed to raise such a big amount. If doctors at Lilavati Hospital operate on her, we might be able to bring her back home." Ketto has helped raise around Rs 40,000.
However, doctors from KEM hospital said as Summaya is still undergoing treatment for TB, her liver transplant might have to wait. "She is too weak to undergo a liver transplant. She can't even walk," said a senior doctor from the hospital. However, doctors from Lilavati will check all the documents before coming to any medical conclusions.
After meeting Shraddha
The offer came a day after Summaya met Kapoor, who visited her at the hospital in a burkha on Tuesday afternoon. She also expressed her desire to raise funds for her. "I am thankful to the paper for highlighting our struggle," said Hussain.
Rs 30 lakh
The cost of the liver transplant
Also Read: Shraddha Kapoor meets her ailing teenage fan; takes it to social media
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