This is the success story of Rayan, a 6-month-old infant ‘Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Survivor’. He was diagnosed with a CHD called a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), in which there is a hole that occurs in the septum (wall) that separates the heart’s lower ventricles (chambers) and allows blood to pass from the left to the right side of the heart.
The oxygen-rich blood then gets pumped back to the lungs instead of out to the body, causing the heart to work harder. A VSD is potentially life-threatening, and symptoms include shortness of breath, frequent respiratory infections, paleness etc.
Rayan’s family is from Peshawar, the capital of the northernmost KPK province of Pakistan. His father works as a teacher at a government school and his mother is a housewife. He also has 3 older siblings. Altogether, a beautiful family living a completely normal life. Shortly after Rayan’s birth though, all that would change.
When signs and symptoms of VSD started appearing in Rayan, his parents immediately took him for a medical check-up at a local hospital. That is when the doctors there suspected the presence of a CHD and had him undergo an Echocardiography (ECHO), which is a cardiac ultrasound.
The results of this test confirmed Rayan’s life-threatening heart condition and his family felt as if their lives had been shattered to pieces. Adding to their woes was the fact that not only did Rayan need heart surgery immediately, but the procedure required to save his life was relatively expensive.
The family started searching for financial support options straight away and were told to travel to Lahore to meet Dr. M. Asim Khan, a renowned Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon. This meeting would turn out to be life-altering for them.
Dr. Asim was the one who referred the family to us after being informed of the challenge they were facing. After learning about us, they started to feel hopeful and that maybe everything was falling into place.
Our organization is dedicated to saving lives of deserving children like Rayan who are suffering from Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). Since inception in 2016, we have financially supported over 800 child heart procedures.
We are also blessed with an incredible donor base, which includes both organizations and individuals who believe in our cause. In Rayan’s case funds from one of our partners in building hope, Deerfield Foundation, were going to be the source of solace needed to help him defeat CHD.
Following our swift evaluation of the case, Rayan’s surgery was scheduled at the Ittefaq Hospital (Trust) in the city of Lahore. A world-class team of CHD healthcare professionals would carry out the procedure called a VSD Closure.
All formalities were taken care of and Rayan’s family was told that in terms of preparation, everything possible had been done. Now all they had to do was pray and remain a symbol of strength for Rayan like they had throughout this entire process.
The time for surgery had arrived and with that the most difficult hours of their lives. Rayan was battling for survival and once the treatment was over, it was our privilege to inform his family that he had done so valiantly. He had defeated CHD and was now a ‘CHD Survivor’.
His loved ones were all overwhelmed with emotion and felt grateful beyond measure to us. They appreciated our whole team and wished us continued success in all our projects. With the support of such people, we have no doubt that we will continue to do such inspiring work.
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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