"He was three months old at that time. I had just fed him and put him to sleep, and was in the kitchen when I heard him crying loudly. When I went to tend to him, I was shocked to see his face turning blue… he was struggling to breathe. Panicked and afraid that he had choked on something, I rushed him to the hospital. Doctors told us that his tiny heart had four different problems, and without immediate treatment we would lose him..."
- Sumaiya Banu, mother

Without the surgery, he will have only 10-20% chance at life

14-year-old Mohammed Asif has Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare condition caused by a combination of four heart defects that are present at birth. He had a temporary surgery when he was 1 year old to rectify it, but doctors said that he needs to undergo open-heart surgery at the age of 15. Without it, he'd only have a small chance of surviving.

Last year, a minor accident at his school revealed that his heart would have stopped beating long before he could have got the surgery. Asif was playing with his friends in the classroom when he slipped and hit his chest on the desk. He hit it on the same spot that he had surgery, years ago.

“He didn’t tell me about it for days! Only when I noticed a reddish bump on his chest, did he tell me the truth. He was in so much pain and he suffered silently thinking that I would scold him. But it was this accident that saved his life too." - Sumaiya

He needs to undergo an open-heart surgery as soon as possible

When Sumaiya took her son to the hospital, she was relieved to learn from the doctors that the bump was nothing serious, but what they said next gave her chills. An echo test revealed that his heart condition has become so severe that he wouldn’t have made it if they had waited another two years to do his open-heart surgery.


In May, last year, Asif underwent a procedure to insert a shunt in the right ventricle of his heart. Although he has been able to go about life normally, he still shows symptoms of his ailment. He sweats profusely while doing the smallest of tasks, and often struggles to breathe properly. Now his life hangs in the balance of getting a life-saving open-heart surgery at the earliest, or his heart will stop forever

"This heart problem has been troubling my son for years now. He is a naughty kid who loves cycling and cricket. But he can’t play for more than five minutes without turning blue in the face or wheezing as if his lungs have stopped working. He didn’t have a normal childhood like other kids his age and he yearns for it. Only this surgery can be the miracle he needs to live a long life." - Mohammed Arif, father

They’ve sold everything they had, but it's still not enough

Asif’s parents have already spent everything they had on his treatment so far. This open-heart surgery is Asif’s only chance at living a long life, but his parents are struggling to afford it. His father, a motorcycle mechanic, sold everything he had in his house, and also a small piece of land that was in his family for years. But that is nowhere close to the 25 lakhs that they need for his surgery.

"I can’t earn 25 lakhs even if I spend my whole life working. How am I supposed to get that much money in a few days? But it is the only way to save Asif. I can’t bear to watch my son suffering right in front of me, while I stand here helpless. I’m doing everything in my power - I have begged, borrowed, even sold my wife’s jewels -  but it is nothing close to the amount that will get him this surgery. God! Please have mercy on us. Only you can accomplish miracles as big as that." - Arif

Asif has suffered all through his childhood due to his ailing heart. He needs your help to get this surgery that will save his life and put an end to his pain. Click here to donate