Cancer-afflicted woman, husband fight disease from a Mumbai footpath

While taking care of their five daughters and a son in a village in Akola Noor Mohammad Ali Shaikh and Shabanabi dreamt of going to Mumbai for a vacation Little did they know that they would have to spend five months of their lives on a footpath in the city that they dreamt of They had to come here to treat Shabanabi who has cancerNoor Mohammed Ali Shaikh seen with Shabanabi said he is cheerful in spite of the situation because itrsquos the only way to remain level headed PicSatyajit DesaiThe 42yearold and her 44yearold husband have been forced to live on a footpath opposite the Tata Memorial Hospital at Parel due to because they canrsquot afford to live anywhere else Noor owns a cycle repair shop and lives with his family of nine including six children his wife and fatherIt wasnrsquot until February 2014 that he realised Shabanabirsquos health was deteriorating after a wound on her left leg showed no sign of getting better She had been complaining of joint pain and weaknessldquoShe was losingweight used to scream at night in pain and couldnrsquot move around Thatrsquos when I took her to a local hospitalrdquo said Noor The doctor told Noor that Shabanabi was suffering from Osteosarcoma cancerous tumour in a bone The couple travelled to Mumbai in the month of August for the first time in their lives to seek treatment for her ailmentMet a good doctorldquoFirst we went to Prince Aly Khan Hospital since it was a trust and we thought we will get a concession on the treatment there The doctor told us that though there were good chances of Shabanabi getting cured the expense might cross Rs 10 lakhThere was no way we could bear the expense But the doctor was very helpful he wrote a reference letter for Tata Hospital and asked me to take her thererdquo said Noor He took Shabanabi to Tata Hospital and a doctor immediately admitted her Within 15 days the hospital amputated her left leg from the knee to stop the tumour from spreadingTwo months after the operation the hospital discharged her but she still had to undergo eight chemotherapy sessions With each session lasting five days with a gap of of 21 days between sessions the couple was given tentative dates for the eight sessions starting from November 8No place to stayldquoFor the first three sessions we moved in at Gadgebaba Hostel at Parel We only had to pay Rs 10 a day and it was affordable Since the treatment cost was covered under Rajiv Gandhi Aarogya Yojna we were paying only for medication which was still a burdenrdquo said ShabanabiHowever as the hostel only allows stay for three months they were asked to take another appointment which was scheduled after several months Another trustrun housing facility said they donrsquot allow cancer patients to stay on their premises The couple then had no choice but to move to a footpath in JanuaryThey go to a temple for lunch and depend on charity for other meals ldquoThere is heat continuous noise and dust People walk by carelessly sometimes kicking away our stuff but we canrsquot complain There is no other way I never thought that our first trip to Mumbai will be spent on the streetsrdquo said Noor smilinglsquoI cheer her uprsquoAsked how he stayed cheerful in the situation Noor said that was the only way to remain level headed ldquoIf I break down what will she do I talk to her cheer her up by telling her that only a few days are left and we will be home soon I just hope the rains donrsquot start anytime soon We have two more months to spend here and it will be really difficult to manage in the rainsrdquo said NoorHospital speakldquoWe dont admit patients during chemotherapy sessions but in such cases we can help them with accommodation available with the hospital Had the couple contacted us we would have helped them with lodging and other facilitiesrdquo the Tata Memorial hospital spokesperson said