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This Cancer Patient’s Tribute to His Wife as She Stands by Him Will Make You Believe in True Love

When a cancer diagnosis crashed his world, this man was grateful for the love showered upon him by his wife.

This Cancer Patient’s Tribute to His Wife as She Stands by Him Will Make You Believe in True Love

Manoj Goyal has an incredible story to share about the love – in particular the one about himself and his wife. The story begins with a WhatsApp group and quietly comes to the present day as his wife remains a pillar of strength as the young man bravely battles cancer.

In a Humans of Bombay post, Manoj recounts how he had been too shy to even talk to his wife when he first met her at a common friend’s party. However sure that he wanted to get to know her, he convinced his friend to start a WhatsApp group just so he could talk to her. From thereon, the two clicked and later realised that they wanted to get married. Despite the fact that it was difficult to convince her parents of the marriage, the wedding itself was a beautiful affair. As far as Manoj was concerned, this was the picture-book life that everyone craved.

That is until five months after the wedding when Manoj came down with a fever. Thinking nothing of it, he just took medication.

But when he didn’t get better, he visited the doctor who gave him the worst possible diagnosis – he had CML, which is a type of blood cancer.

Photo source: Facebook

His wife, despite breaking down in tears upon hearing the diagnosis, never left his side.

He says, “For the next 50 days I was in the ICU and my wife stood by me, strong as a rock. I was in such a bad condition that I couldn’t even bear looking at myself in the mirror but she would hold my hands for hours, read to me, play the songs I like, show me funny videos to try and make me laugh and write me pages of letters talking about our future and how this would pass.”

In a truly tragic twist of fate, Manoj has now found that his cancer has spread to his brain and he will be undergoing intense treatment to combat it. And yet, the only message he wishes to convey to the world is one of gratitude. Through all the trials and tribulations, he notes that he has never felt more loved by his wife and more cared for by the ones closest to him.

And it’s a message certainly worth spreading.

“I first met my wife in 2014 at a common friend’s party. I still remember, I was so shy to talk to her that I asked my…

Posted by Humans of Bombay on Sunday, February 26, 2017

Read the full post here

“I first met my wife in 2014 at a common friend’s party. I still remember, I was so shy to talk to her that I asked my friend to create a WhatsApp group with a few people just so that I could start making conversation with her — I was nervous to even send her a private message! Overtime we began to talk and we didn’t even realise when we started dating…it came to us so naturally. When you know, you just know so within a few short months I proposed to her and even though she said yes, convincing her parents was a task — but letting her go wasn’t an option so we relentlessly convinced our parents and eventually they agreed. We had a beautiful wedding and I was the most content i’ve ever been. 5 short months later I came down with fever — I took some paracetamol and thought nothing of it, but my doctor asked me to take a blood test. The test revealed that I have CML which is a type of blood cancer…I didn’t know what to do or how to react.
I called my wife to tell her and until she came to the doctor’s clinic she thought I was joking. I think the worst minutes of my life was when she broke down in front of me.
By the time I went into chemotherapy, my cancer had reached the next stage. I had the regular side effects of loss of hair and stamina, but because of another major side effect I had to get a colostomy operation. It was after this surgery that the doctor noticed my kidney, lungs and other vital organs weren’t responding…I slipped into a coma and was put on a ventilator. After trying to stabilise me for weeks, the doctors finally said that they would take me off the ventilator and that would maybe give me 24 hours to live. I don’t know what it was — the combined prayers of my family or a miracle but after I was taken off from the ventilator, slowly I started becoming better. I finally woke up from my coma 20 days later to find that I had changed. My entire body was dark, I’d lost my voice and my body was attached to 7 machines — I wasn’t even able to move an inch.
For the next 50 days I was in the ICU and my wife stood by me, strong as a rock. I was in such a bad condition that I couldn’t even bear looking at myself in the mirror but she would hold my hands for hours, read to me, play the songs I like, show me funny videos to try and make me laugh and write me pages of letters talking about our future and how this would pass.
Over the next 6 months, I was bedridden at home and my wounds weren’t healing — I had to undergo another surgery, in addition to the chemo and I also have a bone marrow transplant next month. I’m still not cured — the cancer has now spread to my brain and I will have to undergo several rounds of chemo for an extended period of time. It’s been difficult for me but I don’t understand how my wife has dealt with it — from seeing my body change to getting phone calls in the middle of the night begging her to take me out of the hospital, to not seeing me for days to seeing me bedridden — she’s been unwavering. So many people told her that it was only 5 months into the wedding, who knew if I was even going to make it out alive and to leave me…but I don’t think i’ve felt more loved by her. I still don’t know if I’ll make it…If I do, I don’t know how long I will take to recover fully and be normal again but what I do know is that I’m lucky to have so many selfless people around me who care…who have been strong for me, even though it’s so much harder for them.”

To help those combating cancer, you contact Tata Memorial Centre here

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