How Milaap Helped Karthiga Raise Over 46 Lakhs For Their Treatment
Milaap was born out of a wish to be able to connect people in urgent financial need with people who want to help. Everything we do revolves around meeting this need.
What Is Medical Crowdfunding?
Medical crowdfunding is when people donate small amounts online to help cover someone’s healthcare expenses. It’s a community-driven way to support individuals facing medical challenges.
About Karthiga
Karthiga is a 29-year-old woman from Tamil Nadu. After tying the knot, Gopinath (her husband) and Karthiga led a blissful marital life, and were blessed with a baby girl shortly after. Everything looked like it would be perfect life, until in January 2021, a tragic turn of events unfolded for Karthiga and her husband, Gopinath, as they were riding a motorcycle and were struck by another bike. The impact caused Karthiga to be thrown off, resulting in a severe head injury.
Initially receiving trauma care, her health took a devastating turn after three days when she suffered a massive seizure, leading doctors to discover a drastic drop in her sodium levels. Urgently, she was moved to a hospital equipped with advanced ICU facilities, yet her condition continued to worsen.
What Happened To Karthiga?
A second massive seizure rendered her completely unresponsive – limbs motionless, eyes closed. The uncertainty of her recovery lingered, with doctors expressing the unpredictability of the timeline. Over the next two months, Karthiga oscillated between hospital and ICU stays, and though she eventually opened her eyes in March 2021, progress was elusive. Struggling to breathe independently, she had to be removed from the ventilator, undergoing a tracheostomy to aid in maintaining her airway. The financial toll of sustaining her life surged to over INR 2.5 lakhs per month, encompassing medications and equipment. Gopinath, who had managed expenses by selling assets, faced financial distress, unable to afford the ongoing treatment after losing his job.
Finding A Solution: Medical Fundraising
Gopinath started a fundraiser on Milaap on 17th of June, 2021 to raise funds for the treatment of his wife. Within a short period the fundraiser had raised close to 5 lakhs INR from 412 donors. As the fundraiser continued, they continued to raise funds which went a long way in helping Karthiga get the medical attention she needed.
Gopinath shared his fundraiser with his social contacts via tools shared by Milaap. He reached out to his family, friends, and acquaintances on social media and requested their support during this difficult time. By the next year, the fundraiser had raised around 19 lakhs from over 1000 donors, some donations reaching as high as INR 40,000!
However, all was not clear for Karthiga yet. She kept getting severe infections and repeated hospital stays in the ICU. The next blow came when the doctor informed that they would require an additional 20 Lakhs for further treatment. Gopinath didn’t know whom to turn to at this crucial stage.
Milaap Lends A Hand
Milaap’s Promotional team had reached out to Gopinath during this time and on 10th February, 2023, their fundraiser was run on Ads on Google and Facebook. Together with Milaap they raised – xxx
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Their Journey So Far
Karthiga’s treatment for her gastric issues, rehabilitation was going well. She was able to sense the ground beneath her feet and the doctors reported that she was moving her eyes to focus and look at people or things consciously.
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