Baby Admitted In Delhi Hospital Gets Mother's Milk From 1,000 Km Away

New Delhi For nearly a month 33yearold Jikmet Wangdus and his brotherinlaw have been going to the Delhi international airport daily to collect a box flown all the way from Leh Except the package is not an ordinary oneThe box has seven small containers inside each carrying the precious breast milk of Wangdus wife for their newborn who underwent a complex lifesaving surgery recently at a private hospital hereThe boy was born through a Csection on June 16 at Sonam Nurboo Memorial Hospital in Leh and 30yearold Dorjey Palmo found out that her baby was unable to suckle when she tried to feed himI was in Mysore when my family in Leh contacted me and my Gurujis family members who are doctors suggested sending the baby immediately to Delhi or Chandigarh at a bigger hospital So my wifes brother Jigmat Gyalpo took a flight from Leh and brought my child to Delhi on June 18 morning Wangdus saidWangdus who works as a manager in a educational institution in Mysore took a flight too and reached early morning on the same dayLeh and Delhi are 1000km apart by road and a direct flight takes one hour and 15 minutesI only once took my child in my hands when he was two days old I didnt touch him much because I had travelled from Karnataka and there was so much COVID scare My brotherinlaw carried him he told PTIUpon landing at the Delhi airport the baby was rushed by his father and uncle to the Max hospital Shalimar Bagh in an ambulance and was admitted to its NICU neonatal intensive care unit hospital authorities saidAt Max hospital Dr Harshwardhan Principal Consultant Paediatric Department diagnosed the baby with tracheoesophageal fistula with esophageal atresia which he said is not very uncommon but affects about three in every thousand childrenBasically in this condition the childs food pipe and trachea were connected and it was unable to feed When the child was brought to our nursery the baby also had a respiratory infection so we had to stabilise him first he saidWe conducted the surgery lasting about three hours the next day and it was a complex surgery considering the baby was just fourdaysold But the surgery was successful he saidThe doctor said the baby was kept in NICU for three days and fed through the nose via a tube when he suggested the father about the need of mothers milkWangdus said his friends at Leh airport a very generous private airline which ferried the box free of cost every day and goodhearted passengers helped the family in getting a daily supply of the mothers milk from Leh to Delhi to fortify the baby who was recovering from the surgeryMy wife was unable to travel to Delhi due to the coronavierus scare and therefore we had to manage in this manner he saidFrom end of June this has been our routine and on alternate days I and my brotherinlaw go to Delhis T3 terminal and wait eagerly for the box which have our contact numbers on it he saidToday my brotherinlaw collected it and my wife will keep sending the milk till our last day in Delhi the father saidEach box has seven containers of 60 ml capacity each and every day the boxes are also returned to Leh for refill the next day Wangdus addedAn emotionally overwhelmed father said his gurus in Bangalore were sending blessings every day for his wellbeing and so many good souls have helped us through this journey in this difficult timeTwo days ago my Guruji named my child Rigzin Wangchuk Our flight tickets are booked for Friday and we all will be going home finally he saidWangdus said the babys mother who works in the Revenue Department in Leh is on maternity leave and eagerly waiting to hold her child back in her armsEvery day she was sending not just her milk for the newborn which is needed for his healthy growth but also her love for her child from 1000 km away I am happy my baby is alright now he saidMax hospital Shalimar Bagh is a dedicated COVID19 facility and Dr Harshvardhan said the baby was brought to the nursery section of the hospital which has no coronavirus casesPostsurgery we also ran a COVID test on the baby just to be sure and it came negative We are very happy that the healthy baby will now be reunited with her mother on Friday he saidCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news