CHENNAI: Hemanth Raj, like any other eight-year-old, loves cricket and never misses an opportunity to play with his friends. He plays the keyboard and is good at art. The only difference is that Hemanth was born with haemophilia.From when he was diagnosed with the condition, three months after he was born, Hemanth has been under treatment. This does not stop him enjoying himself like other children, says his mother Ambika. “He knows a little about his condition. Of course, there are times when we have to stop him from playing contact games like football,” she says.Recalling a time when his friends did not understand his condition, Ambika says, “Many of them refused to play with him because of the many restrictions we had to put in place. Now he has some close friends who are helpful, prepared to adjust and keep his safety in mind when they play.”Ambika did not bring up the issue of Hemanth’s haemophilia in his school till he reached Class 3. “I did not want them to reject his application without giving him a chance to prove that he is like other children. Many schools do not want the added responsibility, but his school has been wonderfully supportive,” she says.K Parthasarathy brought up his haemophiliac son P Sudharsan, now 31, in a time when the coagulating factor and other medicines were not available in India.After much lobbying through the Haemophiliac Society Madras Chapter for over 20 years, the State government now provides drugs for haemophiliacs free of cost and these are available at government medical college hospitals all over the State.Parthasarathy admits he had to conceal Sudharsan’s condition at the time of his admission to school. “It was difficult to get admission. Once he proved himself through his grades we spoke to the principal of his school, who was very understanding and granted leave for his many absences,” he says.Parthasarathy says that during the time he spent at home his son developed a love of reading and music. “This made him a real thinker, and after completing his Class 12 exams he refused to go into IT, choosing to pursue biology instead,” says the proud father. Sudharsan went on to complete his masters degree in biotechnology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and is currently working on finding a cure for his community in Philadelphia, USA, where he lives with his wife.Parthasarathy says that life is not easy for haemophiliacs, but they are in no way different from others. “Hopefully, my son’s research will bear some fruit and come up with a remedy,” he says.
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