The story of Arnav Varkula continues to touch many hearts. Earlier this month, SBS Hindi reported on Arnav's tragic terminal cancer diagnosis only two years after losing his mother Sushma to cancer. The local community rallied around his family supporting and raising $54000 in an online crowdfunding campaign run by FIA.
Amit Singh Jadaun of Forum of Indian Australians has confirmed that Arnav has lost his battle with cancer on March 17th, 2018. The news was also shared on crowdfunding facebook page.
“With a heavy heart, this is to inform you that Arnie has passed away into God's hands this morning. A sharp, playful child who was known to his family & friends as a fighter, he fought hard until the end, but it was God's wish to call him,” the post s
Source: Facebook
His last rites were performed at Bereavement Assistance Chapel in Oakleigh on Monday 18 March.
SBS Hindi had reported on Arnav Varkula’s condition a few weeks back.
Arnav lost his mother to cancer in 2015. Mrs Sushma Gulur Srinivas Rao died on 16 April 2015. And two years later, in the first week of May 2017 to be precise, he felt a pain in his knee. After a month of tests, his father Jeevan Varkala's worst fears were confirmed. Young Arnav had developed cancer, and it was spreading fast.
Kunwar Amit Singh Jadaun, who helped the family on behalf of Forum of Indian Australians had told SBS Hindi, "A PET scan plus MRI showed that Arnav had a “rare, aggressive form of cancer called osteosarcoma”. He had a few nodules in his lungs that looked benign. The doctors wished to confirm through a lung biopsy that it was benign and the pathology results for the lung specimen showed it was benign. During this surgery, Arnav also had a double lumen port inserted to start chemotherapy."
On 5th January 2018, doctors told Jeevan that a tumour was spreading aggressively and they tried some things.
Arnav then went to India in Jan 2018 with his father to try alternative medicine and meet his extended family and came back three weeks later.
Arnav celebrated his 11th birthday on 1st of March and the next day he was taken to hospital for possible above the knee amputation, and the wound had started leaking. A chest X-ray showed that a tumour in the lung has grown a lot and that there is fluid in the lungs.
Source: Facebook
The doctor then decided against amputation as there was no point. Hence, Arnav has been given about two weeks to a month to live.
A fundraising campaign was launched to help the struggling family. FIA raised over $54,000.
Arnav breathed his last on March 17th.
“Please keep him in your prayers, and we can all take solace in the fact that his pain has ended. Prayers and strength for his father & family as they come to grips with this in the times ahead,” the post on fundraising page read.
