This is the heart-warming story of 1-year-old Umair, a little bundle of joy for his entire family. He was diagnosed with a rare Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) known as Tetralogy Of Fallot (TOF), which can be fatal if left untreated.
The name refers to 4 heart problems which occur at once, decreasing the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream. Symptoms include bluish skin colour, developmental delays etc. CHDs such as TOF can be caused by a combination of factors, such as genes or things the mother comes in contact with. It may be diagnosed during pregnancy or shortly after birth.
When Umair’s condition started worsening, his family rightly wasted no time whatsoever and instantly started the search for his treatment. Living in the northwest of Pakistan, an area which can lack quality medical facilities, they had to go through many hurdles before eventually finding their way to Dr. Asim Khan, a renowned Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon.
After a thorough consultation with him, they discovered that Umair would need to go through a procedure called a Total Correction, which is relatively expensive. Umair’s father is the sole provider for his whole family, which includes his wife and 8 children, and works as the officiating priest at a mosque. He had limited resources at his disposal.
Dr. Asim then referred them to us, and thankfully because of our incredible donor base and world-class team of healthcare professionals, we readily stepped in. With years of experience behind us dealing with similar cases, we swiftly made all the necessary preparations.
Umair’s father, despite his relatively low income, also commendably arranged slightly over half of the required funds. With everything now in place, all that was needed were the prayers of Umair’s loved ones.
After an arduous few hours outside the operation theatre, they were delighted beyond measure to find out that the surgery was a massive success! Umair overcame 4 simultaneous heart defects on his way to becoming a ‘CHD Warrior’. Not only can Umair now live a normal life, but his entire family can live a life filled with moments of pure bliss.
1 in 100 children are born with CHD, the world’s most common birth defect. We hope that these stories inspire more people to join us on the journey to conquering CHD, and help us shape a brighter future. As an organization, we are leaving no stone unturned on our mission to ensure that not a single child born with CHD in Pakistan remains untreated.
You can help further our cause either by donating towards child heart treatment, or the construction of Pakistan’s first dedicated Children’s Heart Hospital & Research Institute (CHHRI) at:
#EveryLifeMattersEveryChildMatters #PCHFNA
#1in100 #CHDAwareness #ConqueringCHD
#Hero4HeartKids #CHDCare4Life #ACHD
#Cardiology #Cardiovascular #Pediatric
#Charity #Zakat #Donate
#CHHRI #CHD
