Dubai: An eight-year-old Dubai pupil is battling for his life, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, and his family is uncertain about their ability to settle his growing medical bills.
After three surgeries within two weeks, Saurav Sunil, a grade three pupil at the Indian High School, remains on the ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit at Rashid Hospital.
Devastated by Saurav's condition, father Sunil Kumar, 39, and mother Vijayalakshmi, 35, who is expecting, are hoping for the best. So are Saurav's classmates and his teachers at the school.
With the father being the sole breadwinner of the family, earning Dh4,800 a month working as a salesman, Saurav's growing medical bills are a major concern for the family. The bills have exceeded Dh70,000, according to the family. "He was a hyperactive eight-year-old boy, just like any other boy of his age. It is heartbreaking to see him confined to his hospital bed this way," said Kumar.
Saurav loves cricket, he said.
The family hails from Kottayam in Kerala, India.
First a surgical procedure was performed to drain fluid from his brain. In a second surgery, almost 85 per cent of the tumour was removed and then a third procedure was performed to remove blood clots, Kumar said. "Doctors told us the tumour has been sent for a biopsy," he added.
"We are desperately hoping Saurav will get better soon."
