A toddler from India with protruding eyes who was slowly going blind until generous donations from around the world funded treatment has sadly died.
The plight of Zailian Kaipeng hit international headlines two months ago and touched hearts across the globe with more than £10,000 poured in to save the boy.
The two-year-old had been ‘constant pain’ with his swollen eyes since he was two months old but his parents were too poor to fund treatment. After finally getting medical attention, he was diagnosed with blood cancer last month and began chemotherapy.
But the boy caught an infection late last week which turned into pneumonia, and he lost his battle last Saturday.
His father, Neirbanglal Kaipeng, 28, a daily labourer, said: ‘I’m shattered. My child has left me. Despite so much hard work by everyone, he is gone. It is devastating.’
Zailian Kaipeng, pictured with his father Neirbanglal Kaipeng, 28, and grandmother Thaponti Kaipeng, 65, was receiving treatment after being diagnosed with blood cancer
The boy was in ‘constant pain’ with his swollen eyes since he was two months old
The toddler, pictured here after chemotherapy had improved his eye swelling, caught an infection late last week which turned into pneumonia
Critical condition
Zailian travelled to Delhi, on October 12, with his father and grandmother Thaponti, 65, after press agency Cover Asia Press started a fund raising page for his treatment, on September 25.
He was admitted to Artemis Healthcare Hospital, in Gurugram, outside Delhi, where he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and chemotherapy was quickly begun.
Doctors were also discussing the possibility of a bone marrow transplant.
Zailian is pictured with his grandmother Thaponti Kaipeng. Doctors had hope as his swollen eyes had drastically reduced due to treatment
The youngster had an aggressive type of cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia
However, he was admitted into intensive care late last week then suffered a cardiac arrest.
Dr Randeep Singh, the head of medical oncology the hospital, said: ‘His death has left us all in shock. We moved him to the intensive care unit after his white blood cell count (WBC) dropped massively and he had high fever but his condition worsened due to severe pneumonia.
‘He unfortunately succumbed to his disease despite strong antibiotics and treatment.’
The medic said that the boy’s cancer was very aggressive and he entered a critical condition after his WBC count dropped.
‘His case was not easy, he had serious leukemia,’ he said. ‘WBC usually drops during chemotherapy and the body is prone to infections, especially bacterial infections.
After a crowdfunding page was set up £10,000 was raised in the first ten hours
The boy’s family had revealed they felt so helpless they stared at their son and cried
‘Zailian was incubated for nearly 12 hours but nothing helped. He was really ill and it is extremely tragic and sad to see him leave this world at such an early age.
‘There were so many associated with him who came forward to help. He has left all of us heartbroken.’
Zailian’s body was today airlifted from Delhi back to his home of Tripura, in the north east, and his funeral will take place in a traditional ceremony on Tuesday.
His mother, Changmaite, 25, a homemaker, could not be with her son when he was sent for treatment as she had to remain at home to take care of her other two children, son Ringdamte, 10, and nine-month-old daughter Naote.
Doctors said they they were waiting to see if the chemotherapy would work and had previously stressed his chances hung in the balance
Mother could not be there
Tragically, she did not see Zailian before he died.
Neirbanglal added: ‘I understand everybody tried and I am really thankful to everyone who came forward to try to save my child.
‘I am grateful to them for their love and support. He was destined to live only this long. I hope with everyone’s prayers, his soul rests in peace. He will always be remembered and we will miss him always.’