Raina, a patient of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), and a student of Vadodara’s Bright School, is now into an endless wait from the board authorities to grant her a half hour exemption under the physically challenged category. Detected with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia just months before her SSC examination in 2006, Raina has been through routine rounds of chemotherapy and oral medication for the past two years. Her haemoglobin level is now 7.8, while her White Blood Cell (WBC) count has dropped to 1,900 and platelet count to as low as 1.38 lakh. Her father, Mahesh Joshi, said: “It is only her inner strength that remains at an all time high, helping her go through all the pain.”

The bi-monthly chemotherapy, the ongoing treatment at the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI), Ahmedabad, has left the girl crippled with intense body pain, nausea, insomnia and fatigue almost all through the month. But through the pain, Raina not only secured 81 per cent marks in her SSC, but also nurtures an ambition to become an oncologist to reduce the pain of cancer patients.

With intense practice, Raina has been able to attempt only 70 per cent of the paper within the stipulated three hours time. Her family has now requested for grant of extra time from the Board, but the reshuffling in the education department has left the case forgotten under a stack of files. “I don’t even need a writer. I am competent enough to write. A writer would create more confusion and I have to compromise over spelling mistakes, writing style and neat diagrams. All I need is a little more time,” says Raina.

Dr Nitin Joshi, lecturer at the paediatric oncology department of GCRI, who has been monitoring Raina’s case said: “The side-effects of the therapy makes her tired very soon because of which she is not able to complete the paper in three hours. Speaking continuously for three hours will also not be of much help. She is the first such patient of ALL who is so adamant and confident of appearing for the Board exam, and we are fully supporting her.”