Fighting an old enemy, with new friends
Silent thief, turning a healthy teenager into a frail shadow of herself?
A year ago, Surekha lay on her bed, touched by the unmistakable signs of old age. Swollen knees and an aching hip had left her in crippling pain. But Surekha wasn’t a geriatric in her eighties, or seventies, or even her sixties – she was only 19 years old. And yet it seemed like time had wrapped itself around her youthful frame.
What was this silent thief, turning a healthy teenager into a frail shadow of herself?
It had begun two years ago with a fever that clung stubbornly to Surekha. “When the doctor diagnosed it as jaundice, part of me was relieved. Jaundice is curable,” says Surekha. But as soon as the jaundice was cured, her body presented her with another problem – stiff and swollen knees. An active young girl, Surekha was perplexed, but an X-ray at the local hospital in Ambikapur revealed a calcium deficiency. Even after dutifully taking the calcium pills prescribed, however, the pain in her knees persisted. Soon, it seemed like her body was conspiring against her – her hip began to throb with crippling pain, confining her to her bed. “The physical pain was excruciating, but even harder to bear was the anguish my illness was causing my family.”
“I could see them worry about me, struggling to cope both emotionally and financially, but I felt so helpless.
"I was supposed to be their support when I grew up, but all I felt was a burden. I had held hopes of going to college and becoming a teacher, but I couldn’t even go to the bathroom by myself.”
Weighed by thoughts like these, Surekha slipped silently into a cocoon of depression, even pleading with her mother to end her suffering with poison.
Surekha spent a year like this, wracked with pain and guilt, until low blood levels caused her to be admitted to the Jashpur District Hospital. There, alert healthcare workers trained in screening patients for non-communicable diseases were finally able to name the enemy Surekha had been battling – sickle cell disease.
Sickle Cell Disease, which causes red blood cells to stiffen and blocks blood flow—triggering excruciating pain—can be fatal if neglected or left untreated. But with regular blood tests and medication, doctors can develop effective treatment strategies for those affected.
With a donation from Eli Lilly and Company to UNICEF USA, UNICEF USA supports UNICEF’s health system strengthening efforts in resource-limited settings, including in India, as a key sustainable solution to addressing prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases among children and young people. By leveraging government resources, providing technical expertise, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders, UNICEF strengthens health systems in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh to deliver respectful patient care.
At the Jashpur District Hospital, health staff training has been facilitated by UNICEF to recognize and address sickle cell disease, especially in children and adolescents. Surekha was quickly issued a health card under the National Health Mission, entitling her to free medication, monthly blood tests, and even a travel allowance to cover the bus fare from her village. Without these interventions, the pain and expenses would have kept the young girl bedridden, and her college dreams out of reach.
“I didn’t go to college for a whole year because it hurt unbearably just to walk. But now I can pursue my dream of not just studying Economics — but teaching it!”, beams Surekha, now a first year BA student at Manora College.
When she graduates, she will be the most highly qualified in her family, eager to contribute to the family’s finances. “If it weren’t for my timely diagnosis and the care provided to me by the hospital health care staff, I wouldn’t have been able to continue my studies," says Surekha.
“My sister is a peon, and on her income I would have had to choose between securing an education – or staying alive.”
Surekha’s story is a testament to the transformative power of UNICEF’s Childhood NCD Programme in Chhattisgarh. By integrating childhood NCD care into primary health systems and raising community awareness, the programme is helping ensure that young people are diagnosed and treated more effectively than ever before.
UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, organization, product or service.
