Kanhangad: As a nine-year-old, Akshath Mon should have been spending his days laughing with friends and running around school grounds. Instead, he lies in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Mangaluru as his tender body battles a severe intestinal illness that has already required two major surgeries.

Akshath is the son of Mamatha, a widow from Muthappanthara near Kozhukkundu at Karattuvayal. Life dealt a cruel blow when Mamatha’s husband, Hareesh, passed away during the Covid pandemic. Since then, she has been raising Akshath and his sibling alone.

Now, as her younger son fights for his life, Mamatha is staring at a mountain of medical bills. His severe illness is the result of an intestinal obstruction caused by entanglement. A couple of surgeries have already been performed, but further procedures are still needed. Doctors estimate the cost of treatment could reach ₹15 lakh, an overwhelming sum for a family already struggling to make ends meet.

But hope is not lost
People are coming together to support Akshath. His school, Balla Government Higher Secondary School, where he is a fourth-class student, has stepped in with a donation of ₹1.08 lakh. The cheque was handed over to KV Sujatha, Chairperson of the Kanhangad Municipality and patron of the Akshath Medical Support Committee, by School Principal CV Aravindakshan and Headmistress MS Shuba Lakshmi. PTA President N Gopi presided over the event.

Standing committee chairperson K Latha, committee chairman M Balraj, vice chairman E V Jayakrishnan, convenor P Padmanabha, and treasurer S Pradeep Kumar spoke. The committee urged people to contribute liberally to the medical fund.

Google Pay number: 96054-27221 (Prameela), The number of the bank account opened in the Kanhangad branch of the Karnataka Bank – 9992505076574901.