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"I thought it could be his last breath. My baby turned blue…his body became cold. I got scared and fainted at the sight. The next thing I knew was they were taking my baby in an ambulance to another hospital in the nearby city at 2 am. My little boy was breathing mildly this time but my husband told he needs a heart surgery sooner or he might die." – Rajeshwari, mother
Rajeshwari and Raj Kumar’s baby boy is just three days old. But he is already fighting for life with the little energy he has. Born with a hole in his heart, he cannot survive without an open heart surgery at the earliest. The tiny human is holding on only with the support of a ventilator and medicines.
“Wake up and look at your amma," says Rajeshwari
"It was only three days and my stitches were still fresh…and they took him away even before I could register his little face in my mind. He is kept in an ICU from then and I can see him only for a few minutes each day. All I do in those few minutes is stand and weep at the sight of him covered in tubes. I talk to him so that at least he will know his mother is near him. But he is sedated and doesn't even open his eyes and look at me,"- Rajeshwari
The couple had waited to welcome their first baby and take him home. But when they got to know of their child's heart disease they didn’t know how to react. The medical terms scared them. Raj Kumar knows that his little son may die if he didn’t get surgery.
I never thought things would turn out this way. I prayed to God that I will tonsure my head and walk on fire in the local temple festival if my boy is born safely. Maybe I would have angered the Gods…but they should punish me, not my innocent child who hasn’t even opened his eyes - Raj Kumar, father
Kumar is a farmer who had to switch to goat herding due to famine. His income was sufficient enough to take care of his family. He was content with his life and was awaiting his baby’s birth to complete his little family. But now all his dreams will shatter due to the condition.
He is ready to sell all his goats but that is not enough to save his little son
"6 lakh rupees…that is the price I need to pay for saving my baby’s life. Even if I sell all my goats and borrow money from everyone I knew…I cannot make it up. Why is God being cruel to us? My baby is struggling for breath with his weak heart that may stop soon and I’m here standing helpless. How will I console my wife who is crying all the time?"- Raj Kumar, father.
The couple is struggling to afford even their baby’s daily medical needs. They don’t know anyone in this new city, no one even to guide them to a medical shop or console them when they're heartbroken. They are each other’s support and all they do is wait in the hospital corridors praying and hoping for a miracle.
