Dreams under the limelight

Jitesh had been always fascinated by dancing. He would naturally catch on to the beat and groove like a professional. So, when he said he wanted to grow up to be a professional dancer, we were all too happy. We wanted him to follow his dreams and reach great heights.

We knew something was wrong when he refused to go to class one day. We couldn’t understand why he would want to miss class, and tried to talk to him. But he wouldn’t give us a reason, and just kept saying he didn’t want to dance anymore. Finally, after a lot of coaxing, he gave us the reason. He didn’t want to go to class because he was finding it difficult to catch his breath in the middle of a dance routine.

Still determined to make Jitesh follow his dreams, we went to the doctor. It was then the doctor gave us the news that made all our dreams come crashing
down – Jitesh has asthma.

At first, we couldn’t even believe it. How could it be? What did he do? Why him? Many people offered many opinions. Various therapies. We worried if he would walk or run normally again, let alone dance.

But finally, inhalers came to our rescue. Jitesh started his inhalation therapy and was very careful about avoiding the things that would trigger his asthma. The inhalers, regular visits and check-ups with the doctor and Jitesh’s diligent effort helped bring his asthma under control one step at a time.

Today, Jitesh does what he likes, including a lot of dancing. Nobody can make out that he has a problem. He even featured in his school’s annual event.

It’s like we have almost forgotten that Jitesh has asthma.