I can still remember the day when she was born, a ten pound beautiful baby with dimpled cheeks and a good crop of hair. All the people in the hospital kept coming in to see that pretty baby. She kept smiling throughout like she knew how popular she had become. And smile she did too through all that illness that had befallen her.

Komi is no more today, hard to accept but oh! So true (1984-1994) that is her life span.

At the tender age of five we had discovered that there was a tumor growing in the Para cellar region of her pretty brain. Pretty I say because everything about her was so beautiful and even today we can hear her ring of laughter, I always imagine her being there in some place…. Hard to believe that she isn’t around anymore.

KOMILA in 1989 just before her illness began


She was just five years old and I still vividly remember that fateful day when she came back after her swimming lesson early complaining of a headache… we thought it was due to the cold and mild cough that she had. When the headache persisted even after her cold vanished, the doctor suggested a CT scan just to rule out any thing serious………but it only confirmed the dreaded conclusion. Komila had a growth in the brain and subsequent tests proved it to be a tumor. Doctors did a biopsy and as luck would have it, the results claimed it to be a benign growth. So there we were rejoicing at that ……….  She was advised Cobalt Radiations since this tumor (Craniopharyngioma) though benign responded very well to Radiations.

Komila was well again back to all her normal activities …A kind hearted child with maturity well beyond her 6 yrs. She was in the fourth standard and eight years old when the tragedy befell again.  This time she started running mild temperature and when it didn’t subside even after a month we had to do tests……only to discover the old recurrence. This time with some more complications called Hydrocephalus, She had to be shunted to divert the fluid from the cranium to the peritoneum so that the rigors that she was suffering from could stop. All this continued with so many medical complications till the final verdict was reached that she had a malignant tumor called (Malignant Germ Cell Tumor).
 
I thought it was the end of the world...I would hate to see Komi like a vegetable. All those thoughts of chemotherapy frightened us but nevertheless we took the decision in consultation with a lot of doctors ….We sent her reports to the US, Canada and were advised to start Chemotherapy as she had a fairly good chance of recovery.
Then began the ordeal……… Komila was fighting the disease well.
Her behavior all through her treatment was like a sportsman enduring all the pain and taking it within her stride. She was advised 10 cycles of Chemotherapy. That started her affair with Bombay Hospital where she had to be admitted practically every month for the treatment… go home, recover from the cycle and get back again.

We are grateful to the team of neurologists headed by Dr. Singhal and      Dr. Bhagwati who in their tireless attempts, kept Komi comfortable throughout her illness. Dr Bhagwati (Father of Neurosurgery as he is called in India) put us at ease and offered us a lot of support all through this ordeal. Thank you Sir! We are indebted to you. She was also looked after by Dr Udhani (Pediatrician) and last but not the least Dr. Anand Gokani.

After Komi’s first cycle of Chemotherapy, she developed a new set of complications probably all patients do but they were not known to us. … She had a low blood count then suddenly she started getting drowsy …… before we knew what was happening, she slipped into a diabetic Coma…….. That was the turning point because then we came in contact with Dr Gokani who changed everything for the next whole year.

Although  we were informed that she was in a critical state  and that she would recover  well only  if she came out of the coma within 12 hours , we didn’t lose hope and kept praying all through the night. Our prayers were answered and she started moving her legs and hands and opened her eyes. As he told us later, Dr Gokani was not too sure about her recovery and couldn’t bear to see the child suffer hence he avoided seeing her personally though he had his assistants look after every detail of her treatment. In fact, I remember his assistant being in touch with him all through the night on the phone……  Thank you Dr Gokani….we are ever indebted to you. Not only did he look after our baby but  gave us a lot of  support and I found a very good friend in him…even today I know if I need his help he will be there for us.

When his assistants informed him of her recovery, Dr. Gokani finally came to the room to see the miracle child and then onwards things began to change …. We felt more relaxed with Komi under the soothing care of Dr. Gokani. A fine young man, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi inheriting all his qualities of love and compassion.

The next one year was as turbulent as the time before but there was a big difference as Dr.Gokani was there to share our difficult times and so time passed with the test showing that tumor had receded to almost 5%...

So it was celebration time again as Komi was recuperating at home and with fingers crossed we prayed to the almighty that things would be well. Komi started moving around the house. Her friends dropped in to see her and she seemed happy ……….But Alas! It was short lived. Komi‘s tumor started growing again and though we tried another regime of Chemotherapy.  Dr. Advani (Father of Oncology as he is known) never gave up and tried his very best to save her. Komila gave up the battle for her life.  She breathed her last on 27th December 1994 10.30am.

It’s hard to believe that she is no more and we are yet to come to terms with it... but then Life is so short and we have such a beautiful girl in front of us, Komila’s younger sister Suyashree…. someone who Komi loved so much and while in the hospital she has left so many little notes expressing how much she loves her and us too. These notes are something that we will treasure all our lives.