There are many love tales of yesteryears, Romeo-Juliet or Heer-Ranjha, that have made the world believe in True Love.
But, you will rarely find any story of such sacrifice in today’s era.
In today’s times, when youngsters are losing their belief in the power of love and institution of marriage, the story of Manoj and his wife might make you re-think.
This is the story of a man who had his wife on his side even when he couldn’t look at himself in the mirror and was fighting cancer.
It is the kind of love which we call ‘unconditional’.
The beautiful love story of Manoj Goyal and his wife started with a WhatsApp group and within months, they discovered the power of love and marriage.
But, shortly after the marriage, Manoj was diagnosed with cancer.
When life threw a curveball at Manoj, hardly he knew how to fight against the monstrous and scary disease. But, his wife chose to believe in the power of her true love. She decided to stand by her husband to support him during his very difficult treatment and proved what TRUE LOVE looks like.
Recalling his incredible love story, Manoj shared with HOB:
“I first met my wife in 2014 at a common friend’s party.
I still remember, I was so shy to talk to her that I asked my friend to create a WhatsApp group with a few people just so that I could start making conversation with her — I was nervous to even send her a private message!
Overtime we began to talk and we didn’t even realise when we started dating…it came to us so naturally.
When you know, you just know so within a few short months I proposed to her and even though she said yes, convincing her parents was a task — but letting her go wasn’t an option so we relentlessly convinced our parents and eventually they agreed.
We had a beautiful wedding and I was the most content i’ve ever been.
5 short months later I came down with fever — I took some paracetamol and thought nothing of it, but my doctor asked me to take a blood test. The test revealed that I have CML which is a type of blood cancer…I didn’t know what to do or how to react. I called my wife to tell her and until she came to the doctor’s clinic she thought I was joking.
I think the worst minutes of my life was when she broke down in front of me.
By the time I went into chemotherapy, my cancer had reached the next stage.
I had the regular side effects of loss of hair and stamina, but because of another major side effect I had to get a colostomy operation. It was after this surgery that the doctor noticed my kidney, lungs and other vital organs weren’t responding…I slipped into a coma and was put on a ventilator.
After trying to stabilise me for weeks, the doctors finally said that they would take me off the ventilator and that would maybe give me 24 hours to live.
I don’t know what it was — the combined prayers of my family or a miracle but after I was taken off from the ventilator, slowly I started becoming better. I finally woke up from my coma 20 days later to find that I had changed. My entire body was dark, I’d lost my voice and my body was attached to 7 machines — I wasn’t even able to move an inch.
For the next 50 days I was in the ICU and my wife stood by me, strong as a rock.
I was in such a bad condition that I couldn’t even bear looking at myself in the mirror but she would hold my hands for hours, read to me, play the songs I like, show me funny videos to try and make me laugh and write me pages of letters talking about our future and how this would pass.
Over the next 6 months, I was bedridden at home and my wounds weren’t healing — I had to undergo another surgery, in addition to the chemo and I also have a bone marrow transplant next month. I’m still not cured — the cancer has now spread to my brain and I will have to undergo several rounds of chemo for an extended period of time.
It’s been difficult for me but I don’t understand how my wife has dealt with it — from seeing my body change to getting phone calls in the middle of the night begging her to take me out of the hospital, to not seeing me for days to seeing me bedridden — she’s been unwavering.
So many people told her that it was only 5 months into the wedding, who knew if I was even going to make it out alive and to leave me…but I don’t think i’ve felt more loved by her.
I still don’t know if I’ll make it…If I do, I don’t know how long I will take to recover fully and be normal again but what I do know is that I’m lucky to have so many selfless people around me who care…who have been strong for me, even though it’s so much harder for them.”
And while Manoj gives full credit to his wife Mansi for standing next to him like a rock, Mansi believes it is his unwavering courage and love which gives her strength to fight the battle of cancer with him every day.
“This wonderful man Manoj Goyal gives me so much credit when the real one goes to him and only him. ❤
I was a mere spectator while he was the one on the ventilator for a month, in a coma, in a state where it would have been so much easier to give up than to hold on. He had to learn over the little things we dont give a second thought about…to pick things up again, learn to talk again, swallow, walk again, sit again… the journey he has been through has been roughest on him.
And when a man so strong goes an extra mile and does 2 minutes more in physiotherapy just to see me smile, how could i not be there…Hold his hand, help him learn to walk, talk, sit, eat…
Words dont do justice to what he went through and he’s the only one to be appalled. ❤
But like you said Mr. Goyal, “letting me go wasn’t an option” & letting you go isn’t mine ❤.