There was once an assignment in primary school that I had to do – I had to speak about a person whom I admired. Back then, twenty to twenty-five years ago, I chose Kiran Bedi, India’s first female police officer. As a child, I was enamored by her bravery.

If I had to choose again today, I would choose a child for the same reason – for her bravery. I would choose Christa Jerin, a five-year-old girl who has perhaps known nothing other than struggle against an internal enemy – cancer.

Days shy of turning four years old, in January 2021, after multiple trips to hospitals for recurring abdominal pain, Christa was diagnosed with cancer. After further testing, she was diagnosed as having high risk neuroblastoma stage IV. Thus began her journey of endless hospital stays, chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, scans, and treatments and therapies.

After her diagnosis in January 2021, she underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy by May 2021, and in May, Christa got a bone marrow biopsy, a PET CT scan, and an MIBG scan. The bone marrow biopsy results stated that there were no tumor cells found in her sample. The PET CT and MIBG scans showed regression in the size of her tumor. These results allowed Christa to have the bulk of her remaining tumor removed surgically the next month. The surgery lasted six hours.

The next step in her treatment was an autologous stem cell transplant, which involved preparatory chemotherapy in late June. In mid-July, she received the stem cell transplant, and, in the weeks, following her transplant, she was unable to have any food by mouth due to her compromised immune system. She had a persistent cough that made her retch and vomit, in addition to severe pain.

Radiation therapy began in September 2021. Christa was losing weight, her skin was peeling, and she had nausea all the time. After 16 days of radiation, she started immunotherapy in November with drugs imported from Switzerland. Finally, in April 2022, Christa seemed to be out of the woods with news of remission.

The relief was short-lived, and within three short months, in July 2022, Christa was out of remission, and the battle began all over again. By the end of August 2022, she had already had five cycles of chemotherapy. This time, a haploidentical stem cell transplant from Christa’s father was decided upon as therapy. However, at the end of October, this was delayed due to an infection.

This clinical accounting of Christa’s journey does not show the spectacular courage with which she smiled through it all. This innocent child, who has known cancer and little else in her life, and at this point, has spent almost a third of her life battling this hideous emperor of maladies. Despite this, she brings joy to all who have come to know her – she finds it in her heart to paint, play, and laugh. Even though insurmountable pain, she finds a way.

The human cost of cancer is monumental. Terry Tempest Williams said, “An individual doesn’t get cancer; a family does.” While Christa suffers, so do her parents, her brother and all who love her. Ansu and Jerin – Christa’s parents - have traveled around the country to get her treatment. They have sacrificed their physical and mental health. Through all of this and through other losses in the family, they still persevered.

Although crowdfunding through GoFundMe helped with expenses for Christa’s treatment previously, red tape was very difficult to surmount to get the money to India for this beautiful child’s treatment. The miracle that occurred previously may not be easy, by far, to replicate. This time crowdfunding for Christa is through AROH US, an NGO for Childhood Cancer that supports children with Cancer in India. The cost estimate for her treatment is about 1,20,00,000 INR (about 40,00,000 INR for bone marrow transplantation and associated costs and 80,00,000 INR for immunotherapy).

We, as a society, are programmed to take care of our children. Moreover, we have a moral obligation to do so. It is a great shame that, ultimately, the life of a child is reduced to talk of numbers – to talk of currency. Why is it that this child is not being afforded the same chance at life as another child? Why was this beautiful, brave soul, my new hero, chosen unfairly to suffer? By virtue of being humans, it is imperative that we give Christa a fighting chance – a chance to experience all the joys that any other child would experience, a chance to grow up. I call upon your kind, human heart to help us give her this. For Christa.