Page 141 - Till the Last Breath . . .

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Pihu Malhotra

Pihu’s condition had started to worsen. The first signs of the relapse of ALS

were beginning to show in her body. The nerve conduction tests showed
that there was a significant loss of sensation in her legs. That morning, she

had bumped into the door when she had gone to the bathroom. Her hands
were starting to betray her again. She had started to drop things and had

become clumsier. The horror of being an ALS patient was back. The loss of
sensation and control didn’t bother her as much as it bothered Arman, who
was the first to go through the reports.

‘Maa, I will be okay,’ she reassured her mother who was inconsolable on
seeing her daughter struggle to do the simplest things again. The disease

was back and it was worse than ever.
‘No, you won’t be. It’s our fault,’ she said. ‘We must have done
something wrong,’ and she burst into tears. Her dad stood over her mom’s

shoulder and smiled at his daughter. That’s the only thing he did. Someone
had to be strong, hold the pieces of their lives together and remind them that

there was still hope, that all was not lost. Yet. It was a little unfair to expect
it from Pihu.

‘When is he scheduling the treatment?’ her dad asked.
‘Soon,’ she said.

They had discussed the treatment before. It was illegal and highly
dangerous but Pihu saw it as a win-win. It was no secret that there were just
two possible outcomes of the radical stem cell treatment. Either die a quick,

painless death or be cured. It made perfect sense for her. Having seen
herself rot and almost die, she knew what it took for her to plod through

that time. Behind the smile and the emotional strength she portrayed, inside