It all began in Mirpurkhas, where I went to see a doctor for a severe pain in my stomach. The doctor prescribed two initial tests: a stomach ultrasound and a Blood CP report. I got the ultrasound done quickly, and when I showed it to the doctor, everything looked completely normal. However, for the Blood CP report, they told me it would take an hour, but it actually took around two and a half hours to arrive.

When the report finally came, the results were shocking. My White Blood Cells (WBC), which are normally between 4,000 and 11,000 for a healthy person, had jumped to a staggering 3.5 lakhs (350,000). Looking at the report, the doctor stared at me with deep concern and said, "Brother, there is a serious issue here, and you need to get more tests done." I replied, "Doctor, it is just a routine stomach ache. Please just prescribe some medicines; I am not getting any more tests done right now." I was happy with my daily routine and my job driving someone's car, so I took a one-month prescription and went back home.

Back home, the severe stomach pain continued, and a constant fever refused to leave me. I kept taking the medicines, went for spiritual healing (dam-darood), and even sought traditional remedies for my enlarged spleen, but nothing worked. Over the next month and a half, I completely lost my appetite, and one side of my stomach began to swell noticeably. Out of sheer necessity, I returned to Mirpurkhas, this time to see a stomach specialist named Dr. Balchand Motiani. After examining my previous Blood CP report, he explicitly told me that I needed to get a 'Bone Marrow' test. He mentioned it was an expensive test and could only be done in Hyderabad. I told him the same thing: "Right now, my stomach hurts too much. Please just give me medicine, and when I have enough money, I will surely get that test done."

Our financial situation was very tough back then. My father worked hard on his government duty as a school watchman, and I earned a living by driving a car for someone else. After about a month and a half, when my father received his monthly salary, he handed me some money and said, "Son, please go to Hyderabad and get this test done." I was still feeling normal on the outside, having no clue what lay ahead. I reached Hyderabad and stayed with my cousin who lived there. Together, we went to the doctor for the Bone Marrow test. It was an incredibly difficult and painful procedure. Even though they gave me local anesthesia to numb the area, the deep pain in the bone during the extraction was unbearable. The doctor informed us that the final results would take about 12 to 13 days. Unaware of what the future held, I turned to my cousin and said, "Brother, let's explore Hyderabad today!" And with that, we both headed towards Rani Bagh...