Dear Friends,

Sowmya Akhil is a Malayalee, a 37-year-old private school teacher, who’s settled in Bangalore. She has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis for the past five years. She had been hospitalized twice and underwent treatment. She requires continuous medication to sustain her life at this point. However, with the low salary she and her husband get, they are not unable to find the money for all medical expenses. They have two young school-aged daughters to care for along with other household expenses.

The past five years of treatments and hospital costs have drained the little savings this family had. The hospital bills were too high for them to manage and they had to borrow money to settle them. They haven’t any other source of income or support from extended family. This is a very rare but severe disease that relapses at any time. The doctors have advised rituximab injection, 5-6 times a year, the cost of which is 50000 to 80000 rupees per dose. According to the neurologist, the further attacks may be severe, and if the injections are discontinued, it could result in partial or full paralysis.