Sandesh Kadam, a salesman by profession, saw the worst days of his life when his dear son was diagnosed with blood cancer. Doctors had given an estimate of about Rs. 12 lakh for the entire treatment.

Oneindia played a major role in bringing strangers together for this noble cause. Oneindia began a crowdfunding task where its readers were made aware of Sandesh's situation and were encouraged and requested to help him. People from all over showed generosity and helped Shree get treated.

The amount raised has helped Shree receive chemotherapy sessions successfully. He is slowly turning to be the active and happy child that he used to be. He has also started eating and drinking normally. Sandesh is grateful to all the donors for their heartfelt thoughts and generous donations that have helped his son recover from the life-threatening illness.

Read Shree's story below.

Shree, a 3.5-year-old child, used to be fun loving and cheerful but the sight of doctors, nurses and syringes had turned his days into a nightmare. He imagined doctors as demons and slipped into his blanket whenever he saw any doctor come close to him.
The major part of Sandesh's salary goes into spending for the house rent which is Rs. 4000. All of Sandesh's savings had already been spent and an amount of Rs. 90,000 had already been spent in Shree's treatment. This was just one step with millions of steps yet to be covered to enable Shree to recover completely. Sandesh's salary was barely able to cover the costs of Shree's tests and medicines.

The day Shree's cancer was detected was one of the worst days for this family. Shree was happily playing in the park with his father, when suddenly he began panting and he looked totally out of energy. His hands and lips turned white and his body appeared low on blood.

Doctors initially doubted that there could be a lung issue. However, a bone marrow test revealed that Shree was suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The disease progresses very rapidly and leads to the creation of immature blood cells. Shree was given an injection which was worth Rs. 1000 daily. After exhausting all the savings, Sandesh chose to take a loan of Rs. 50,000 from his employer.

Every day Sandesh cried secretly seeing his son's condition. He didn't wish to reveal his tears to his son or mother because he wanted to be their source of strength and belief. His son missed running around in the park and watching his favourite cartoon on the television, as there was no TV in the hospital room. Each chemotherapy session left a bitter taste in his mouth that prevented him from eating his favourite dishes. Shree became angry with his father for making him go through all this. A 3.5-year old's mind is too young to understand the ordeal of his illness.

Being the sole breadwinner for his family, Sandesh came out to share his story in the hope that strangers would sympathize with him and help him with his son's treatment. Sandesh wished to end the torment of the painful syringes and chemotherapy sessions but only money could cure his son soon and help him get discharged from the hospital. This is when OneIndia stepped in to help.