“We haven’t even named our baby yet and he is already struggling for his life. My 7-day-old baby can’t breathe without ventilator support. He has been fighting for 5 days now, but I don’t know for how long he will be able to endure this. My wife, Jarina has not even seen her baby after the delivery as she is too weak to travel. If I can’t take our baby home alive, I don’t know how I will face her,” Asif, the baby’s father.

This baby was diagnosed with a major heart disease when he was barely 2 days-old

Asif and Jarina were planning to build a small playroom for their newborn. Although their house is very small, all they wanted was to give their baby every possible happiness. Their happiness was shattered when their baby was diagnosed with heart disease.

“For the first 2 days, he was doing fine. No one suspected a problem. I was getting congratulatory calls from all our relatives. Jarina and I would constantly talk about what all we would do for our baby. But all that changed in a split second. Jarina hasn’t stopped crying, but she has stopped eating.”

This condition is not letting the baby breathe without ventilator support.

Jarina’s baby has a heart defect in which his aorta is connected to the right ventricle and his pulmonary artery is connected to the left ventricle. This is exactly opposite to how it should be in a normal heart.

“During Jarina’s pregnancy, we hadn’t taken any risks. We did all the scans and tests on time. I ensured that Jarina eats rests well. Even in my minimum income, I ensured Jarina was well-fed and well-rested. But still fate had to be so cruel to us.”

Asif is skipping meals and is trying to save every rupee for his baby, but it is not enough

Asif paints houses in Uttar Pradesh. He mostly gets work during the festive season. He works as a laborer in construction sites during the other months. He manages to earn Rs 250 per day and somehow manages his household. For the past 5 days, he has been eating and sleeping in the hospital corridor. He can’t afford to take a room. He is skipping meals and is trying to save every rupee for his baby.

“I have already spent Rs 1 lakh in just 5 days. I have never seen so much money in all my life. I was content with whatever I had, but now I wish I would have been richer. I would have saved my baby with everything. But I had to borrow from my friends and relatives to get until here. My baby has only a few hours to get an open heart surgery without which he won’t make it.”

How you can help

Jarina’s 7-day-old baby has a severe heart defect and needs an open heart surgery in just a few hours. Without this surgery, he will not be able to breathe without ventilator support and eventually not survive. The cost required to save him now is Rs 6 lakhs and his father has nothing left to save him.