Bhupender’s house is one among the many houses cramped up in the hustling bylanes of Noida. A driver by profession and the father of a beautiful 8-month-old daughter, he led a simple life. His parents, wife, kids and his work kept him occupied. But the August of 2016 steered his life into some unexpected struggles. 

Shristi is Bhupender’s first child after 2 years of marriage. The couple was thrilled to have become parents of a beautiful baby girl. “Use dekhte hi laga ki ghar me Laxmiji aa rahi hai”, said  Bhupender recalling the day Shristi was born. 

“One night, Shristi woke up crying and just would not stop. My wife tried feeding her milk but she refused to drink it. We could not understand what was wrong! That morning we rushed her to the hospital near Sector 8. The doctors took my daughter for few tests. I could hear her cry in the hallway. What I thought were the hardest 2 hours of my life was just the beginning of the struggles to come.” 

The doctors referred them to Child Heart Foundation for a free follow up. It was in Child Heart’s OPD that little Shristi was diagnosed of her condition. She was born with a congenital structural abnormality called Pulmonary Atresia causing obstructed blood flow from the heart to the lungs. One could only imagine how painful this condition can be for a baby who is not even a year old.

Due to this condition, Shristi faced trouble feeding and her breathing is faster than normal. Today, she is struggling to gain weight and her condition might deteriorate rapidly if she is not operated in the coming weeks. She needs an urgent surgery of BT Shunt, which will cost Rs. 2,00,000. This surgery is done free of cost in Government Hospitals but Bhupender was given a waitlist of 1 year but little Shristi's treatment cannot wait for even a month.