Thalassemia children enjoy air trip over Mehsana

Palanpur, Oct 31 (UNI) It was a great day in the life of 16-year-old Anushri, a standard 10th student, and 10-year-old Urmil, a standard 4th student, both suffering from thalassemia, an incurable disease, when they enjoyed a 20 minute free air trip in the sky over Mehasana town yesterday.

The air trip, organised by the Ahmedabad Aviation Aeronautic Ltd (AAA), brought lasting pleasure in the siblings' lives.

''It was a fantastic feeling to see tiny-tiny houses, green and yellow fields as if someone had drawn the triangular of different colours and I was not frightened,'' said Anushri, after the two came out of a four-seater Cessna, a trainer aircraft, at Mehsana air strip. She added Urmil was frightened.

Urmil replied ''I was a bit frightened in the beginning, but everything was normal within minutes. I wish I had many more air trips.'' Chatting with little angels was really heartening. Unaware of the fact that they will not survive longer as both of them are suffering from Thalassemia, an incurable disease.

According to a local physician Surendra Gupta '' The children inherit it from their parents. Thalassemians are born with the disease. A patient cannot survive beyond a certain age of 25 or 30 years. When both husband wife have thalassemia minor their children can have thalassemia in the majority of cases.'' According to the children's mother Vimlaben Rupala, ''Every fortonight they require transfusion of the blood.'' Vimlaben teaches at Kolwada village in Mehasana, while her husband, Bharatbhai, also teaches in a high school in Gandhingar.

According to Bharatbhai Rupala, ''Both the children were immensely happy after their twenty minutes flight.'' UNI