Former Shiva Boys’ student seeks help in battle with leukaemia‘I just want to live’

At just 21, Dinesh Gadraj had his whole life mapped out. A proud graduate of Shiva Boys’ Hindu College, he had aced his exams and was set to begin training at the Kenson School of Production Technology, studying to become a drilling rig technician—a dream born from his fascination with the oil and gas offshore industry.

Then, on August 5 last year, his world stopped. What he thought was “just a fever” turned into a diagnosis that would upend his future—B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a rare and aggressive blood cancer.

Speaking to Guardian Media at his Chester Trace, Debe home, Gadraj recalled the moment he got the news.

“I thought I just had a normal fever. Then the doctor said my white blood cells were extremely high. They did tests, a bone-marrow biopsy… and that’s when they told us—leukaemia. It was scary. Extremely scary,” he recalled.

Today, Gadraj is a shell of the energetic young man who once raced to class and tinkered with machinery in his spare time. Chemotherapy has left him weak, nauseated, and constantly tired. He spends most of his days lying in a hospital bed, his laughter—the same laughter he once used to cheer up his family—now strained and fleeting.

“The hardest part isn’t the pain,” he whispered. “It’s being away from my family… missing birthdays, missing prayers at home. That’s the hardest.”

Even in his pain, Gadraj tries to stay positive. “I just laugh it out,” he said. “If I take it on, I’ll get depressed and get sicker. So I joke. I pray. I hold on to hope.”

He also wants to raise awareness about the rising number of young people in south Trinidad being diagnosed with cancer. “They should do research,” he said. “A lot of people my age don’t even realise they’re sick until it’s too late.”

He urged citizens to help him.

“I just want to live,” Dinesh said. “If everyone could share or donate, even a little—it could save my life.”

His mother, Diana Gadraj, said doctors have done what they can, but his best chance of survival is a stem-cell transplant at Apollo Hospital in India. The full cost of the procedure, including treatment, accommodation, and care, is US$165,000—an impossible sum for his working-class family.

Struggling to hold back tears, Diana said, “One year now it’s been like this. Every test, every biopsy, every bit of medication we had to pay for,” she said.

She urged the public to help them.

“We thought the treatment was working, but the last biopsy showed no change. The doctors say his best chance is to go abroad as soon as possible. He’s getting weaker.”

She said it was heartbreaking to see her once vibrant son become frail and pale.

He said, “Sometimes he cannot stand up for long periods. He’s always tired. It breaks me to see him like this. He didn’t even start life yet.”

His father, Steve Gadraj, a truck driver, said the ordeal has affected the entire family.

“He’s my first son. My boy, who used to go temple, read books, help everybody. To see him like this—it’s hard. I can’t do it alone. We need help to send him abroad. Please, we just want to give him a chance to live,” Steve pleaded.

Gadraj’s younger brother Damian broke down in tears. He said in the past his elder brother cared for him but now it was the other way around.

“He used to take my food and tease me,” Damien said. “Now it’s my turn to take care of him. I just want him to get better so we can play and laugh again.”

Damien said he hoped his elder brother could get surgery, return to school, build his career in drilling technology, and live the life he fought so hard to begin.

Anyone wanting to assist Gadraj can donate to First Citizens Bank, Penal Branch to Diana Gadraj—Savings Account Number 314 4693 or his Gofundme page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-dineshs-fight-against-leukemia.

His family can be reached at 366-0423/ 395-5420.