This is the success story of Abdullah, a 9-year-old ‘Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Survivor’. She was diagnosed with a CHD called an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), in which there is a hole that occurs in the septum (wall) that separates the heart’s upper ventricles (chambers).
The hole increases the amount of blood that flows through the lungs. A large, long-standing ASD can damage both the heart and lungs. An ASD is potentially life-threatening and symptoms include breathing difficulties, frequent lung infections, skipped heartbeats etc.
As a child, when Abdullah started to suffer from signs and symptoms of CHD, his parents took him for a medical check-up in their hometown of Kasur, not having the slightest idea of what the underlying condition was. They were however extremely concerned about his health.
Following a thorough examination, Abdullah’s doctor recommended an echocardiography (ECHO), which is a cardiac ultrasound. The results of this test revealed that Abdullah had an ASD which required treatment as soon as possible.
His parents were shocked to the core and a life without their son was unimaginable for them. To make matters worse, they were told about the estimated cost of the treatment. Abdullah’s father, who has a government job as an electricity linesman, and solely supports his whole family, could not afford it.
When all hope seemed lost though, Abdullah’s parents were informed about our organization by Dr. Faiz Rasool, a renowned Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon based in Lahore. They wasted no time whatsoever and contacted us immediately. In our first meeting with them, his father mentioned how he needed financial support to save his son’s life.
Fortunately for him and more importantly, Abdullah, we have an exceptional donor base to call upon. Not only that, but we also have tremendous experience treating and saving lives of deserving children born with CHD. Since inception, we have financially supported 600+ life-saving child heart surgeries.
We assured Abdullah’s family that we would do everything possible to save his life and once the required funds were taken care of, the heart surgery was scheduled at the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital (ULTH). A brilliant team of doctors and allied healthcare professionals was on board for the procedure called an ASD Closure.
All that Abdullah’s loved ones had to do now was hope and pray for the best. Even though the procedure he was going to go through was quite complex, we were confident that he was in great hands and that he had the fight in him needed to emerge as a ‘CHD Survivor’.
The hours that followed were beyond stressful for all of Abdullah’s family members who were present. The way they were with him though throughout his fight was very inspiring and so, after the surgery was done, we were thrilled to tell them all that Abdullah had overcome his CHD!
When we broke the news to them, his family was both overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotion. They realised that a childhood that Abdullah deserves now awaits him and together, they could live a completely normal life. As they left, grateful beyond measure, they also wished us continued success in all our projects.
1 in 100 children are born with CHD, the world’s most common birth defect. We hope that these stories inspire even more people to contribute towards our cause so that we can continue shaping a brighter future for affected children and their families. We are genuinely leaving no stone unturned for them. Every life matters, every child matters.
Join us on our journey to conquering CHD in Pakistan by donating now towards child heart surgeries or the construction of Pakistan’s first dedicated Children’s Heart Hospital & Research Institute at: https://pchfna.kindful.com/
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#EveryLifeMattersEveryChildMatters #PCHFNA
