Fifteen-day-old girl’s heart has just three chambers; Cuffe Parade society, where her grandfather works as a supervisor, pitches in with expenses
The baby was born with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum, where the artery supplying blood into the lungs is totally blocked
Sumit and Seema Walmiki, who were in a celebratory mood after they were blessed with a baby girl on February 19, were crushed to find that the baby suffered from a congenital heart ailment and had to be put on ventilator support.
“My daughter weighed 2.5 kilogram at the time of birth. We brought her home three days later, after being discharged. We were planning a naming ceremony soon, however, on February 28, we sensed that she was having difficulty in breathing. Even though we had presumed it to be a cold, we took her to Cama Hospital for a routine check-up. After a few tests, we were informed that the oxygen saturation level of the child was low due to a heart problem. The doctors advised us to shift the child to either KEM, Wadia or Sion LTMG hospital,” said Sumit, who has studied till standard 12, and is without a job since last month.
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Mother Seema with the infant at Wadia Children’s Hospital
At Wadia Hospital, the doctors confirmed that the newborn suffered from congenital heart disease—pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum, requiring immediate stenting.
Running from pillar to post
Sumit worked as a sweeper and earned a monthly Rs 9,000. It was challenging for the family to arrange for money as the child had to be put on ventilator support. “A little past midnight, we rushed to KEM Hospital with our 11-day-old daughter, but were refused admission on the ground that there was no paediatric bed available. As the newborn’s health was deteriorating, we took him to nearby Wadia Hospital, where she was immediately admitted. I was informed that she has a congenital heart ailment and we had to arrange for the money for her treatment,” said Sumit.
Dr Shreepal Jain, Consultant Paediatric and Fetal Cardiologist at Wadia Hospitals said, “Baby was born with a condition called pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum, where the artery supplying blood into the lungs is totally blocked. So they are dependent on another artery called PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) to supply blood into the lungs. The PDA is present in all babies at birth and closes in the majority within 24-48 hours.” “This baby became extremely sick when the PDA started to close. When the baby arrived at Wadia, the condition was diagnosed and the baby was given a medicine to reopen the PDA, till the surgery could be planned,” Dr Jain added.
A helping hand
In these times of financial crisis, the residents of Dalamal Park Cooperative Housing Society in Cuffe Parade, where his father Chandrapal, 52, worked as a housekeeping supervisor, offered to help. Dr Gurdeep Sengupta, a resident and good Samaritan of Dalamal Park, Cuffe Parade said, “Since the newborn was a granddaughter of our housekeeping supervisor for the past fifteen years, like-minded residents came forward and contributed towards the cost of the stent procedure.” However, those funds were not enough to carry out an emergency lifesaving procedure.
Sumit worked as a sweeper with a monthly pay of Rs 9,000
“He couldn’t generate much funds on his own. In the meantime, the baby had to be put on a ventilator because of breathing difficulty. Our coordinator then started generating funds. She approached various trusts and donors including the Rotary, for financial aid for the treatment of the child. The baby got out of the ventilator in the interim period and could be stabilised. On Monday morning, two procedures were performed—one to enlarge a hole within the heart and another to insert a stent in the PDA. She is recovering well,” Dr Jain said.
More procedures
Dr Jain said, “Since the baby is born with only three chambers instead of normal four, she will require two additional surgeries in future to separate the oxygenated (good) and deoxygenated (bad) blood. Babies with these kinds of heart problems can now survive and lead a decent life if timely intervention is provided.”
“I am glad the baby is doing well thanks to the support extended by the community and our team of doctors and nurses. We had started this centre to help children with congenital heart diseases and would thus request everyone to come forward to support our children and give them a second chance to a healthy life,” said Dr Minnie Bodhanwala, CEO, Wadia Hospitals.
Sumit and his wife Seema are looking forward to this weekend as their daughter is likely to be discharged from the hospital. Sumit said, “My daughter today (Wednesday) is out of oxygen support, of all tubes and wires that were passing from her body.”
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