A family has new hope for the holiday
Last fall was a particularly difficult time for little Aditya. It began with an unrelenting fever. The monsoon had ended in India and mosquitoes were rampant, so doctors initially thought 4-year-old Aditya had dengue fever. But blood tests quickly confirmed Aditya had cancer, specifically acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
Aditya’s parents, who had traveled to India from East Tennessee for a family wedding, were shocked. The diagnosis came just weeks after they had celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. A time to drive out dark forces and welcome the light of prosperity, health and happiness. Cancer was a most unwelcome intruder.
They returned home within weeks of the diagnosis, just after Christmas, and began chemotherapy at a local hospital. Within weeks, doctors referred Aditya to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Danny Thomas, the son of immigrant Lebanese parents, founded St. Jude in Memphis in 1962 to treat children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases regardless of their race, ethnicity, beliefs or ability to pay. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live.
Bhargav, Aditya’s father, had attended college in Memphis and was familiar with the pioneering research and patient care at St. Jude. He said that the referral was a first step toward “something hopeful.”
They arrived last January and after several months of chemotherapy, doctors at St. Jude said Aditya would be a good candidate for a bone marrow transplant. His mother was the donor.
Through it all, Bhargav said he has been impressed with his son’s undamped optimism. Even after a difficult afternoon of medicine and needles, he tells the nurses he loves them and offers a warm smile.
He is 5 years old now and enjoys building blocks. His thick black curly hair is returning, and he is excited about the day he can pull it back into a bun. The family returns for weekly clinical visits, traveling the 7 hours to Memphis. The trip can be exhausting but Bhargav said they only have to look at Aditya’s resilience to keep going.
“He has given us strength to keep moving forward,” his dad said.
Aditya's health is much improved as the family approaches Diwali this year, but they’ll keep the celebrations simple.
In the past, they would gather to pray to the Hindu god Ganesha to remove all obstacles in their path. This year, they will do the same but also look to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for help.
“St. Jude has given us hope in a really difficult time,” Bhargav said. “The doctors, the nurses, they’re continuously working to make sure Aditya has everything he needs. It’s a blessing to have St. Jude.”
