“She’s always on ventilator support, and we’re always waiting for her to come back to us, smiling.”

6-months-old daughter of Divya and Venkatesh has been in the hospital for almost 4 months now. She was born with a heart defect. When she was 2 months old, she started having trouble breathing and her parents took her to the hospital. Her weight was too low for treatment, so she was temporarily kept under observation in the emergency room. On the very next day, her respiratory problems got worse and she wasn’t able to breathe anymore. The doctors shifted her to the ICU and put her on the ventilator. She underwent an emergency cardiac surgery and now needs prolonged stay in the ICU to recover.



Dreams of a happy parenthood were shattered at their baby’s diagnosis

Divya and Venkatesh got married two years ago and were very excited to start the journey of parenthood. Their joy soon turned into a nightmare when they found out she had a birth defect. Even before they could organise a naming ceremony for her, she had fallen so sick that she had to be rushed in for treatment. Since her birth, she had respiratory and feeding problems. She was put on medication to aid her in gaining weight.

“The doctors say she’s still in a critical condition, nothing causes terrifies us more than that sentence. We can’t wait to take our baby home.”

When her breathing problems aggravated to life-threatening levels, an emergency surgery was performed to help her. But the first postoperative day, she was sick again and desperately needed the ventilator. Till now, she’s in a critical condition in the hospital and still needs intensive medical to recover from her condition.




Venkatesh desperately wants to earn more money to give a better life to his family

Venkatesh and his family depend on agriculture for their income, which earns them around Rs 4,000 a month. To support his family in a better way, Venkatesh has been preparing for government jobs by living in a hostel in Hyderabad. His wife used to be a teacher at their village school before but quit her job since she got pregnant. Now the serious condition her daughter is in doesn’t allow her to go for another job. She and Venkatesh are always at the hospital, near their baby girl, who’s admitted in the ICU.

“From where will I get money for renting a room? I feel helpless as a husband when my wife has to freshen up in the hospital restrooms because I can’t afford to get a room to live in.”

Despite their prolonged stay in Hyderabad, for their daughter’s treatment, Divya and Venkatesh can’t afford a rented room to live in. They practically live in the hospital waiting room, in order to save as much money as they can. Despite all this, the mounting hospital expenses are beyond their means.

How you can help

Divya and Venkatesh’s poverty should not decide the fate of their newborn child. For their baby to get a fair chance at life, they need your help. Your contribution can make the difference between life and death for the little girl.