Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

From friends who care

Ramya Kannan

FOR A CAUSE: A poster for the charity show.

CHENNAI: It is best to start this one with a cliche: What are friends there for! It would be the right way to introduce the life, trials and tribulations of Suresh Kumar (25), who is suffering from an acute kidney failure and the way his friends have rallied around him.

Suresh's MCA batch-mates at Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering are more than just caring. They have organised a fund-raiser for his kidney transplant and the attendant medical expenses. Yegappan Ramaiah, Ratish Kumar, Aalaap Raju, Sridhar, Muthukrishnan form the alumni team behind this effort.

"Initially, we decided to pool in money to help Suresh, but knew it would not be enough. So we thought a charity show was a good idea," says Aalaap Raju. The transplant would cost Rs. 4.5 lakhs, besides post-operative expenses.

Suresh was in Class XI when doctors diagnosed renal failure. He took heavy doses of drugs to keep his kidneys working, and underwent a kidney transplant in 2002. However, it was not successful. He also lost the use of one eye. Meanwhile, his second kidney too stopped functioning forcing him to survive on dialysis. After his condition got critical, doctors said another transplant within six months was necessary.

"My father sold most of our property for the first transplant. It failed, I wondered if I had any chance at all. I certainly did not expect my friends to rally around me," Suresh says. Suresh's friends have organised the song and dance show on July 2 at Don Bosco auditorium. Singers Suresh Peters, Sunitha Sarathy, Karthik, Shalini, Tipu, Suchitra and Rahul have agreed to perform. Comedian Bosskey is also pitching in to help. Donations (cheques drawn in favour of EBENEZER HOME OF SOCIAL OUTREACHES (Suresh Kumar) exempt from tax. If you are interested in giving Suresh a fresh lease of life, call Yegappan on 98401-22654, Sridhar on 98406-27369.

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