Kolkata: Kolkata-based Das family is raising funds through the crowdfunding platform ImpactGuru.com for their 4-month-old son Ayush Das who is suffering from SMA Type 1 (Spinal Muscular Atrophy).
He is fighting against this deadly disease which is affecting him from doing basic activities like moving, eating, breathing, and swallowing and is also slowly corrupting his muscles.
Ayush is currently raising funds of INR 16 crores through the crowdfunding platform (https://www.impactguru.com/fundraiser/support-baby-ayush) for his Zolgensma therapy. So far, Ayush’s ImpactGuru fundraiser has raised over Rs. 5 lakhs in the span of 7 days.
Ayush’s father, Arpon Das is a government job employee while his wife is also a working professional in a private company. Ayush’s parents are trying their best to save his life by giving him the complete and best treatment.
However, the huge amount of INR 16 Crores stands as the biggest obstacle in their endless efforts. Seeing little Ayush suffer from this deadly disease every second, breaks the heart of his family. Currently, he is in very critical condition and undergoing treatment at Peerless Hospital, Kolkata.
“We are on a mission to give my baby a normal and healthy life which could be achieved with the life-saving drug Zolgensma a gene therapy medicine for treating spinal muscular atrophy. Ayush has been a strong warrior so far and has survived all the pain that life throws at it. However, as parents it is like walking on shattered pieces of glasses everyday while we see our little one suffer,” says Arpon, Ayush’s Father.
SMA is a progressive neuromuscular disease caused due to defects in the SMN1 gene. The affected children develop muscle weakness involving upper and lower limbs initially, but over time develop breathing difficulty and swallowing difficulty.
The best treatment available for SMA is Zolgensma, an American gene therapy replacement drug, carrying a duplicate copy of SMN1 protein. One shot of Zolgensma infused in the vein of a child below 2 years of age has the potential to stop the rapid clock of muscle atrophy (weakening and shrinking) in the body and restore the lost functions over time.
Ayush Das’s Fundraiser Link is: https://www.impactguru.com/fundraiser/support-baby-ayush.