By Dr. Kuhu Roy
Natasha, our three-legged daughter, is a warrior princess for many reasons.
Our bond dates back to late 2014 when this beautiful girl was mercilessly run down and rescued by Maa from a shelter that had apparently taken Natasha to die in neglect. When Maa pulled her out of that hell, her wounds had maggots popping out of them. One of her limbs was in such a miserable condition that it had to be amputated. With Natasha’s impeccable recovery, we thought the worse was over. However, this girl refused to get up. Scans confirmed her spine was unaffected. Basically, that accident resulted in a huge psychological blow for her. I remember Maa used to return every day from the clinic disheartened that Natasha had refused to walk.
What would I have done if Natasha was my human daughter? I discharged her from the clinic and the two of us decided to learn to walk together. Thereon, I lifted her and made her walk by holding her. She was a big and heavy dog. We fell down umpteen times but that always made us smile. At the end of two months of this daily practice, my back began to give up but Natasha’s spirits were high. Then, on the 3rd of January, 2015, all of a sudden Natasha took five steps on her own and fell down. I lifted her, she stumbled but walked again. Both of us were in disbelief, her face glowed while I cried. There has been no stopping my daughter since then. She runs faster than her four-legged counterparts and is an inspiration to all those who have had the good fortune to meet her.
We hit the wall again on 5th June 2021 when Natasha was diagnosed with what was assumed to be autoimmune thrombocytopenia. All the evidence based medical regimes have never let her platelets increase beyond 33k. She has been on daily and weekly supplements and blood tests. She also had a blood transfusion once, but sadly that procedure cannot be repeated as blood group analysis for the match is mandatory after first transfusion. I did initiate the procedure with the help of Dr. Chaudhari from ACTREC, but the vets here lack the passion to push it ahead. A blood blank for all the children like Natasha, whose life can be saved with timely transfusions remains a dream.
This picture of Natasha was taken on the night when her platelets were a mere 6k, which fortunately shot up to 44k two days later. One has to meet Natasha, to see her activity levels and the unconditional love that she has to offer which is in stark contrast with her health condition. Such is her spirit of life. She has always been a fighter, a survivor.
