When 5-year-old Sejal arrived in Mumbai from Nanded, nothing about her world felt familiar. She had just been diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, and the side effects of treatment made her anxious, irritable, and withdrawn. She barely spoke to anyone, barely ate, and struggled through repeated side-effects like mucositis and neutropenic enterocolitis that left her weaker each time. Her father, a farmer from a small village, had brought her to the city with no relatives, no support system and no idea how they would manage; only the determination to save their little girl.
Difficult beginnings often lead to remarkable recoveries.
Sejal was first assessed as moderately undernourished, with a very poor appetite and a very picky eating pattern. Yet, as her treatment progressed and her nutritionist, Bhakti, built a gentle rapport with her, small shifts began to happen. Sejal started engaging. Then she started trusting. Slowly, bite by bite, she began eating again. Through supplements, rations, in-meals and a carefully structured meal plan tailored around her side-effects and treatment cycles, her nutritional status steadily improved, and today she is well nourished and thriving in the maintenance phase.
One of the most touching moments for Bhakti came when Sejal’s father made a quiet visit to Cuddles Nutrition Centre at Wadia Hospital. With tears in his eyes, he said that throughout the journey, Cuddles team had felt “less like hospital staff and more like family.” In a city where they knew no one, he said, “Cuddles became the people we leaned on, the ones who gave us strength.”
Her family’s journey has been far from easy. Farmers by occupation, they rely on a small piece of land in Nanded for their livelihood. When they first heard the diagnosis, the shock was unbearable.
“Everyone in the house cried,” her father remembers. “We wondered, why did this happen to our little angel? How will we afford treatment? How will we survive in an unknown city?” During their darkest moments, nutrition support brought unexpected relief. “Cuddles Foundation was like God’s hand on our shoulder,” he says. “The ration kits, nutrition kits, milk, everything gave us the strength to continue treatment without worrying about our next meal. It kept our child’s immunity strong. It gave us hope.”
Their bond with the Cuddles nutrition team grew into something extraordinary. “Just like a mother chooses what is good for her child, the nutritionists cared for our daughter with the same love,” he shares. “They treated her as their own. Their dedication, sacrifice and attachment made them family.”
There was one incident he will never forget. During Sejal’s 3rd treatment cycle, severe mucositis left her unable to eat or drink for 6 days. Bhakti monitored her nutritional status round the clock, ensuring that her nourishment never dropped by providing her with TPN (a method of providing nutrition intravenously directly into the bloodstream). “It was then that I understood,” he says, “what it truly means for someone to stand by your child with unconditional care.”
Today, Sejal’s family has a message of courage for anyone starting this journey.
“Do not fear cancer. Treatments are advanced, and outcomes can be good. Be patient, be calm, feed your child well and stay positive. This disease tests your strength, but if you stay hopeful, victory will be yours.”
Sejal has been away from her grandparents for almost 1 year now and misses them deeply. Every video call ends with her counting the days until she can run into their arms again. She dreams of going back home, meeting her cousins and sharing stories from Mumbai. Inspired by Dr. Sangeeta Mudaliar, her treating doctor, Sejal wants to become a doctor when she grows up, so that she can help other children fighting cancer just like her.
For now, Sejal waits for the day she can return to her village, reunite with her grandparents and take her first step into school. She carries with her the love of a family that never gave up and the care of nutritionists who stood by her like their own.
Feed a child like Sejal
