“Every night, our baby cries in his sleep like he’s having a terrible nightmare. I try to comfort him, try to wake him up, but he continues to sob and shiver. I recognize his cries, and this is the cry of agonizing pain. We’ve spent many nights awake, worried that he might take his last breath. His lips turn completely blue, his breathing becomes shallow and his heartbeat increases to a scary pace.” - Aarthi, Baby Viraaz's mother. 

Amidst the bustle of a family function at home, baby Viraaz sat playing and sometimes giggling when his grandmother tickled his belly. His giggles soon turned into breathlessness, and then, he was suffocating. Rakesh and Aarthi rushed him to the hospital only to find out that their baby has a severe heart disease and only surgery at the earliest can save him now.

Every breath is a painful struggle for baby Viraaz

Baby Viraaz was only 18-days-old when his heart condition was diagnosed. He has Aortic Stenosis, the narrowing of the valve which reduces blood flow to the body, making the heart much weaker. He was taken for an emergency heart surgery, and his parents breathed a sigh of relief thinking that they had managed to get him treated in time. Unfortunately, Baby Viraaz’s condition didn’t improve.

“He still gets breathless. He can hardly drink any milk and is getting weaker every day. Every time his lips turn blue, we know what’s going to happen next. We can’t leave him for even a minute, because anything can happen to him. His condition keeps fluctuating and he gets breathless more often now. But the only thing that can save him is beyond what we can afford.” - Aarthi.

A school teacher’s salary isn’t enough to afford their baby’s life-saving surgery

Baby Viraaz needs a heart surgery at the earliest to widen the valve and help him breathe properly again. Without this, the little one is only getting worse. Rakesh, a primary school teacher in a small town, has knocked on the doors of many relatives to get help for his son, but it’s not enough. He needs 1.5 lakhs for his baby’s life-saving surgery.

“He can only get surgery when we arrange the money. It’s the only thing we’re waiting for. We’ve already spent almost 2 lakhs on his previous surgery, and I have nothing left now. Every morning I wake up with only one thing on my mind – to somehow get money for my baby’s treatment. But I return home defeated. I don’t know where to go or whom to turn to.” - Rakesh.

How You Can Help

Baby Viraaz needs an urgent heart surgery to survive. Only this will ensure that he takes his first painless breath in the 2 months he’s been alive. Rakesh and Aarthi are struggling to save their only child and desperately need your help.