PETALING JAYA: The saying that love and faith have no bounds holds true for the Ramesh Marathamuthan family.
For the past 17 years, its five members have been fulfilling a vow by carrying the paal kodam (milk pot) up the 272 steps of the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple in Batu Caves in conjunction with Thaipusam.
Service engineer Ramesh, 54, said he noticed swelling around the lower jaw of his second of three children, Sasmetasri, who was four years old then, and initially believed it was just a dental issue.
“Upon taking her for a check-up, the dentist told us it could be more serious and referred us to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.
“That was the start of our journey, which led to her diagnosis of having Ewing sarcoma.”
His wife, Malathy Arumugam, 49, said the disease is a rare form of bone cancer that usually affects children and young adults, and begins as a growth of cells in the bones and soft tissue around it.
“Sasmetasri was always a precocious child full of life and it pained us to see her withdrawn and suffering. She went through a difficult journey with the treatments.
“Although she was too young to understand what was happening to her, she knew something was wrong since her hair fell out in clumps and she had bouts of vomiting due to chemotherapy. She also had a fever every so often and had to miss school.”
Malathy said while they did everything possible to comfort her as parents, they also held on to hope and faith, which kept them strong as they prayed for Sasmetasri’s recovery.
“It was then that I made a vow to Lord Murugan that if Sasmetasri recovers from her ordeal, we will carry the paal kodam each year for as long as we live. It has been 17 years since she has been cancer-free and we have been fulfilling my vow each year as a family,” Malathy said.
Sasmetasri, now 22, said she remembers little about being sick, but her parents told her that she had seven cycles of chemotherapy.
However, although she is now cancer-free, she is still not out of the woods yet.
“I wasn’t able to carry the paal kodam this year as I had to undergo a complex surgery in June last year to reconstruct my lower jaw due to having had Ewing sarcoma. Surgeons used a bone from my calf for the procedure and I am still recovering as my leg is weak from the surgery.
“I guess this is just another challenging chapter in my life but I couldn’t have pulled through without my faith and family, who have always been my pillar of strength,” said Sasmetasri, who just started university after taking last year off to recover from her surgery.
She said she is looking forward to returning to her studies, making new friends and building a future for herself.
Her sister Kirtinee, 25, the first-born and a journalist at theSun, said what kept the family together throughout Sasmetasri’s challenges is their faith.
“As my mother always said, Sasmetasri is the family’s ‘miracle child’. We owe her survival to Lord Murugan and the wonderful doctors. In more ways than one, her ordeal has strengthened our family bond too. Even my brother Vickash Ram, 13, has strengthened his faith in God after seeing our sister’s recovery.”
On Friday, the family carried the paal kodam to chants of Vel Vel, Vetrivel, as they do each year in the run-up to Thaipusam.
“Doing it on Thaipusam, which falls on
Feb 11, would be too maddening due to the huge crowds. Besides, we find it more convenient to carry the paal kodam earlier as we can pray in peace,” said Kirtinee.
