For Sahidul Islam and his wife, Nasim is everything. Their only child. Their hope. At just one and a half years old, he is the centre of their quiet world. A small life built around the daily rhythm of a rickshaw, wages earned, and the joy of watching him grow.
When Nasim was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, something inside them broke that they didn’t know could break. They weren’t prepared for how fast the world could change. Or how hard.
They made the journey to the hospital in December 2025, young parents, far from home, carrying more than just a small bag. They carried the weight of questions that had no easy answers.
Would the money be enough? What if it wasn’t? What if treatment didn’t work? What would life even look like without him?
The early weeks were brutal. Chemotherapy brought relentless nausea and vomiting. Nasim’s small body could not hold onto food. He became weaker, and his nutrition dropped to a level classified as moderate acute malnutrition. A child already fighting cancer was now also fighting hunger and undernutrition.
When the nausea became unmanageable and oral feeding seemed impossible, our nutritionist stepped in. She started enteral nutrition through a tube. Food delivered directly to his stomach, bypassing the battles his mouth and throat were facing. She added supplements. She coordinated hot meals, in-meals, ration support. She was there with a plan when his parents felt like they were drowning.
His wife stayed close to Nasim. She came to every session. She asked every question. She followed every instruction. Their commitment never wavered, even when hope felt distant.
And then, slowly, something shifted. The nutritional status began to improve. From moderate acute malnutrition to mild. The numbers moved in the right direction. More importantly, so did Nasim.
Our nutritionist remembers a moment from the first chemotherapy cycle. The nausea was at its worst. His mother’s anxiety was visible, almost suffocating. She had watched other children deteriorate in the ward. She was terrified that would be Nasim’s fate. When she explained the feeding plan, reassured her, and stayed close, it felt like a lifeline thrown into darkness. His mother later shared that the nutritionist’s presence felt like a ray of hope offering direction when everything felt impossible.
Nasim loved spending time at the Cuddles nutrition centre. He developed a fondness for colours and loved holding a pen. He always wore a mask at the hospital, a small endearing habit that became his trademark. He responded well to the meals the nutritionist provided and the way she engaged with him. The caregivers, too, showed genuine commitment to following the dietary advice.
He completed all his chemotherapy cycles successfully this March. When asked what he wants to do after treatment ends, his answer carries the weight of something deeper. He wants to become a doctor. The very doctors who cared for him, the ones who helped him through the darkest moments, inspired that dream. The fear he once had of syringes has transformed into curiosity and admiration.
His mother, quietly, dreams of seeing him go to school like other children.
His father, the rickshaw puller who once stood in a hospital ward believing his world had ended, now speaks with a calm confidence. “We were devastated,” he says. “We didn’t know if he would survive. But with timely treatment and proper nutrition, with the support of people who believed in him, everything changed. He has been given a second chance at life. And we will never stop being grateful for that.”
His message to other families is simple and grounded: “Don’t delay treatment. Come to the hospital. There is help here. Your child can fight this.”
They found that help. And they are grateful every single day.
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