Vivek was the second child to be admitted to our Centre way back in July this year. As his disease and treatment progressed, he required readmissions many times. He and his mother preferred to stay at the Centre rather than undertake the arduous commute from Moradabad.
Vivek was a boisterous teenager when bone cancer near his right knee changed his life drastically more than a year ago. Vivek had lost his father when he was two years old and his mother had single handedly brought him up, along with his two elder sisters, who doted on him. Vivek's mother worked as an ayah and somehow made ends meet.
The relentless progress of Vivek's cancer just drained the vitality from this adorable and ever-smiling lad. Despite the heroic efforts of his oncologists, the cancer spread to his lungs.
Towards the end, he suffered from an intractable cough and constantly remained breathless. No medicines helped him; he could neither sleep at night nor eat anything. I decided to start him on a low dosage morphine regimen, although he had no pain. His mother was agreeable to this. Just 2.5 mg of morphine every four hours brought about a dramatic improvement in both his distressing symptoms. His cough disappeared and his breathing improved significantly, permitting him to sleep comfortably at night.
However, since his overall condition was deteriorating, his mother decided to take him home so that he could be with his sisters.
Vivek took his last peaceful breath on 14 Oct 2012. I will always cherish the memory of his enchanting smile.
May God grant his mother and sisters the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss.
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