Howrah: Ipsita Gupta went to school only twice in the past year. At other times, she was in and out of hospital where she was undergoing treatment for leukaemia.
The 18-year-old wrote her Class XI final exams from the sick room of St John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School but still managed to score 79.6 per cent and rank fifth in class.
"I would usually rank among the first five girls in class. This time I had thought I would fall behind but fortunately I did not," said the resident of Mandirtala in Howrah who has been diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia.
Ipsita was one of the recipients of the Surrendra Paul Memorial Award for Courage at The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2018 on Saturday.
"It was an award ceremony with a difference. Something I had only heard about but never witnessed. I felt really good and there were so many other stories that I heard about," said Ipsita, who had sought special permission from her doctor to attend the event at Science City on Saturday. "I did not want to miss something as big and important as this."
Black spots all over her body had prompted Ipsita's parents to consult a doctor in August last year. After blood tests, the physician referred her to a haematologist, who in turn sent them to Tata Medical Center. "Doctors confirmed leukaemia after a few tests. Her platelet count dropped from 20,000 to 10,000 in a day and she had to be hospitalised immediately. Since no beds were available at Tata Medical Center, she was referred to Narayana Multispeciality Hospital in Howrah," said mother Anindita Gupta.
Ipsita spent most of August to December last year in hospital. She underwent four cycles of chemotherapy in five months.
"Even in hospital, she continued to study whenever she felt up to it. Once home in January, she was determined not to drop a year and decided to write the exams in March despite not attending classes for seven months," Anindita said.
Back home, Ipsita had to endure spells of weakness, nausea and vomiting. "Since my white blood corpuscles count is low, the doctor has asked me not to go to school regularly so that I do not contract any infection," she said.
But Ipsita had requested her doctor to allow her to go to to school twice - in March for the Class XI final exams and now for the Class XII terminal exams.
"I could not study long hours at a stretch and had to take frequent breaks but I managed. My friends and teachers helped me with notes and I relied on my tuition teachers to catch up on what I had missed in school," said the girl who had scored 92 per cent in Madhyamik.
There were times when she felt low but her parents motivated her with stories of students who have braved odds. "We read The Telegraph and whenever there were stories of children who have overcome hardships, we would read it out to her. It helped a lot," said Ipsita's mother.
If there's one thing Ipsita regrets, that is not being able to spend time with her friends in the last year of school. "That is not happening but I am not giving up," she smiled.
