Class 12 student scripts success from hospital

CHENNAI: For V Lakshmipriya, the board exam was just a small test in the larger battle for life.
While her classmates shuttled between school, coaching centres and home, Lakshmipriya was studying in her 11x11 sq ft room in a T Nagar hospital. “There were times when I felt very weak and they put me on a drip,” she says, pointing to the pinprick on her arm. The 17-year-old was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia in November 2012.
“After the chemotherapy, my body hurt and I kept throwing up. But I kept a straight face in case my family saw the pain I was going through and discouraged me from taking the exam,” Lakshmipriya smiles. On Thursday, when others distributed sweets to parents, teachers and friends, she celebrated her score of 81% with fellow patients.
The student of Alpha Matriculation School in CIT Nagar says her fellow patients, whom she now considers her family, helped a lot. “The older ones would come and ask how my preparation was going and said they would remember me in their prayers. I can never forget their support,” says Lakshmipriya, who shares her room with an 8-year-old boy with her same condition.
Her father, S Velu, who works in a private automobile firm, carries a stack of photos of his daughter these days. “If something happens to her because I couldn’t get enough financial support for her treatment, I will never forgive myself. I keep these photos ready just in case some publication wants her picture to appeal for help,” he says, showing a picture of Lakshmipriya with her hair tied in two tight braids.
Her hair now has just begun to grow after weeks of chemotherapy.
Lakshmipriya is waiting for a bone marrow transplant. “Her sister has been identified as a potential donor, but we don’t have the money for the procedure,” says her mother G Sumathi. Her doctor R Varadarajan says she had a relapse a few days after her exam and was put on a second cycle of chemotherapy. “Her condition is fast deteriorating. If she is alive now, it is only because of her determination,” he said, describing her result as a “miracle”.
“Anyone in her condition would not have made it till the door of the exam hall,” he shakes his head and smiles.
Ask about her next step and pat comes her reply – “engineering.” “I made it this far, I am confident help will come from some quarters either monetary or medically and I’ll make my parents proud again,” she says.
Asked if she is scared of what the future holds, and she says, “If you’re asking me if I’m scared to die, I’m not. I’ve prepared myself mentally for that possibility. I’m just scared if my parents are strong enough to face it.”