A Chance for Kiran

30.11.2020 - For future updates on Kiran's journey please follow Kalyan's blog here 


#achanceforkiran                 
#unaoportunitatperalkiran              
#unaoportunidadparakiran

Para acceder a la página en castellano o catalán, por favor, clica aquí 
 
 
And then there is Silence. Nothing. Panic.

I cannot speak. No words can ever explain what my son Kiran has gone through or could express his sorrow, his pain, his fear during all these months. Watching my 16 year old boy listening to what the doctors had to say the other day was unimaginable, unbearable. Hearing from his medical team that there are no more chances, no future.
 
Kiran was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of Leukaemia (T-ALL) in January 2020.  Despite having lots of treatment for over 9 months here in the UK, including a bone marrow transplant from his 9-year old sister Asha, on Friday 6th November he was told by his doctors that the cancer has come back, even more aggressively this time, and there is now nothing else they can do for him.

We are all devastated. He just wanted to get better and go back to school.

On Monday 9th November he was offered a compassionate place to try a new treatment being developed in Singapore (you can read about it here and watch here ). The treatment is very expensive. £500,000. Only three children have had the treatment before. It has been successful for all three, and another is about to start treatment. We are doing all we can to raise the money but we need to raise it fast as Kiran is running out of time. They want to start the treatment in early December. Please could you donate whatever you feel you can to give Kiran a chance. This in turn will help the doctors to learn and help other children who may have this cancer in the future. 

You can read Kiran's story below. I have written my feelings down too and Kiran's dad is writing a blog which you can follow here .

Please. Help Kiran have a future. Thank  you.

Cristina (Kiran's mum)

Should you wish to help with this fundraising effort or have any queries please email: [email redacted]



Kiran's story

Hi, my name is Kiran and I am 16 years old. I am the second of 4 children and I live in London, although I grew up in Barcelona, where most of my relatives are. I love playing videogames, playing basketball and volleyball, spending time in nature, playing the piano and guitar, travelling and trying all kinds of exotic food.

I was diagnosed with leukaemia (T-ALL) back in January 2020, when I was only 15 and it has been a very difficult journey since then. At first the side effects of the treatment were bearable so I tried to keep on going to school and studying for my exams but soon we all realised our life had changed dramatically and everything was no longer like it used to be. I couldn’t meet my friends, I couldn’t go to school, I couldn’t practice any of my favourite sports and, something that really upset me, I was not able to fly back home and go fishing in Mallorca or walk in the fields of La Segarra.

The intense treatment I have been receiving over the last 9 months (including a bone marrow transplant from my youngest sister Asha on the 4th of September) has caused a lot of side effects and I have become much weaker and vulnerable. I have gone through lots of complications and some of my organs have been damaged but there has always been a relatively good and speedy recovery. I have been doing my best to recover from every step, physically and emotionally, but unfortunately the relapse of my cancer wasn’t something that was in our hands. Last Wednesday I noticed my eye twitching and I knew something was going wrong: the leukaemia had come back, only two months after my bone marrow transplant.

On Friday 6th November the doctors said that we had run out of options in the UK, and told us about some new therapy trials which are taking place in the National University Hospital in Singapore (NUS). It is one of only 3 hospitals in the world where the revolutionary CAR T-Cell therapy is being used to treat T-ALL (please see my dad’s explanation on this in his blog above) and I have been offered the opportunity of this very new treatment. I am very anxious as it is a very innovative treatment and only 3 patients have tried it so far. We are still not sure about long term side effects. But, even if it doesn’t go well, I am still optimistic because I know I will be contributing to science and hopefully this treatment will help cure other patients with T-ALL in the future.

Please help me receive the opportunity to stay alive and fulfil my future and my hopes and dreams. First, I would like to go back to my ordinary teenage life, to carry on with my A Levels, to go back to my volleyball, to travel back home to Mallorca and Montoliu, to study Computer Science at Uni, but also to simply enjoy life along with my beloved ones; my 3 sisters, my mum and dad and all my relatives and friends.

My dream is to become a game developer and enjoy my adult life fully. Please help me to get there.

Help me have a future.

Kiran

 


Cristina's story

I cannot speak. No words can ever explain what my son Kiran has gone through or could express his sorrow, his pain, his fear during all these months. Watching my 16 year old boy listening to what the doctors had to say the other day was unimaginable, unbearable. Hearing from his medical team that there are no more chances, no future.

And then there is us: three sisters, a dad, a mum. A beautiful family of 6, united and full of collective and individual dreams and plans.

And then there is Silence. Nothing. Panic.

Kiran is the sweetest person I have ever known.

He is kind and peaceful; since he was a child Kiran has always wanted to avoid any conflict and just live his life smoothly, often trying to pass unnoticed in all kind of situations.

He is serene and reserved, always avoiding doing any harm to anyone.

He is truly respectful; not just a polite child with good manners, but deeply respectful of all the living beings that surround him.

I have never heard a judging word from him.

Life for him seems to mean Nature in balance, and that is all.

My son has always found happiness in the simplest of things; it comes naturally to him. He is genuinely happy to lie silently on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, just thinking.  He is the least spoiled child I have ever met, and he has never been interested in owning things – with the exception of his Play Station!

But all such cosmological balance is suddenly broken, and it seems that life is no longer being as kind to Kiran as he has always been with Life; he keeps thanking us for giving him such a happy childhood.

I love my boy. I love how he is. And I think life and the world would be a better one if he can stay longer. Much longer.

Please, please, please, help us in trying to keep Kiran with us. I don’t want to let him go.

Cristina

PS I forgot to say how brave, courageous and strong my boy has become from this experience. He has been a constant inspiration and we have learned from him every single day.

Note: 
The deposit required to start the treatment is £280,000, with an overall cost of £500,000 including a bone marrow transplant.

If the donated funds exceed the final hospital charges, or in the eventuality that the treatment cannot take place, the family will donate to cancer research on your behalf.

Thank you.