Father's death motivated this TN girl to become a doctor

Father's death motivated this TN girl to become a doctor

“One day, he died of a cardiac arrest. I resolved to become a doctor that day,” she recalls.

Published: 06th December 2020 03:15 AM 

S Ashika

By Express News Service

One of the oldest memories S Ashika has is of her father developing seizures. “He had a very rare medical condition. He had a cyst in his heart,” Ashika says, adding that he had to undergo an open heart surgery when she was just a little girl. 

“My mother could not afford the treatment while still sending me to school. So she decided to work as a helper at a hospital.” Her father, despite the surgery, continued to have seizures and developed chest pain often. “One day, he died of a cardiac arrest. I resolved to become a doctor that day,” she recalls.

She was, however, overcome by fear on seeing how hard her mother struggled to raise her with finances on a tight string. “There are many poor people like me, who suffer indirectly when deadly diseases take away our parents. There is very little awareness about such rare conditions,” says Ashika.

After taking free NEET coaching at Thakkalai Government Higher Secondary School in Kanniyakumari district and scoring 155 in NEET, she secured MBBS admission this year. “The government has not just realised our dreams, but has also made studying in government schools a matter of pride.”