S Saravanan – Chennai , 2010
I’m S.Saravanan.I was born on 10th June, 1968. I got married in December 1999 and was leading a normal life. It was 5 months after I got my first child, during the month of March, 2001 that I started to lose weight. I lost over 10kg rapidly and also had bone joints pain suddenly. I was asked to take a blood test upon which, it was diagnosed that I had CML in May 2001. I was told by my doctor that I needed to start Hydrea 500mg tablets. Hydrea has its own side effects when taken continuously. And for me, those were really high. I had unusual weight loss, memory loss, nausea and vomit, sensation of unease and discomfort to eat as well as joints pain and many other problems. In those days, I weighed 75kg. After consuming Hydrea for 1 year, my weight came down to 43kg. The color of my skin darkened to such an extent that people who knew me found it difficult to even identify me. It has always been my wish to visit all the temples in India. On realizing that I had few days left for me in this life, I decided to visit atleast some of them. Hence I took a trip to North Indian pilgrim centers for 42 days all by myself. When I returned (October 2001), I was unable to carry my 3kg baggage. I weighed 40 kg and got admitted to Adyar Cancer Institute with a TC of 5, 50,000. The doctors’ team at the Adyar Cancer Institute did a thorough check up and said I had slim chances of survival. They said they would try their level best. They took a written consent saying they weren’t responsible if I died during treatment. I was well taken care of during the treatment period which went on for 120 days. The TC was brought down to 9000, thus saving me. My condition improved when I was put on Interferone. I faced a lot of problems, because of the interferon injections.
However, by God’s grace and well wishers’ blessings, Glivec came as a boon in May 2003.
That day was a golden day!!As per doctor’s instructions, I have been taking Glivec daily for the past 7 years without fail. I also go for regular check ups. I didn’t face any normal problems that occur due to ageing. My current weight is 78kg. I consider the day I got Glivec as the day all my problems came to an end. I am often reminded about my prayer when I pleaded for 3 years of life in Aug 2002. I had visited Kasi in the banks of river Ganga. And the prayers got answered in the form of Novartis, and Glivec extending my life until today.Today, I spend most of my new life towards service to people as an expression of my gratitude to God. I received strong support from my family on this front. I lead a happy life with the help of Glivec knowing that when I bid goodbye to this world I’ll do it with utmost satisfaction. I express my gratitude to all those people who have been continuing their service to human society without any expectation and I seek blessings for their happy long life.
Translated from Tamil by Nagendra FOM Chennai