This 7-month-old cannot exhale on her own and needs urgent | Milaap
This 7-month-old cannot exhale on her own and needs urgent treatment
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    Created by

    Subrata Dey
  • ID

    This fundraiser will benefit

    Ishwari Das

    from Kolkata, West Bengal

“It has been 20 days now and we have been eagerly waiting for our baby to be alright. Every day seems like a decade. I don’t know how many more days she will suffer. My entire family is waiting for us to see my baby, Ishwari healthy and happy again,” Bijoy, Ishwari's father.

What started as a simple cold became dangerous in just 7 days' time

Little Ishwari was born a healthy baby until she turned 4 months old. When she started having recurring cough and cold, Roma and Bijoy thought it was a normal cold. They became worried when even after having regular doses of medicines, she continued becoming more sick and even got pneumonia.

“Doctors at a local hospital in Murshidabad, West Bengal, told us that she would get better. But after 7 days, she became so sick that she could hardly breathe. We were immediately asked to move her to a better hospital. When we did, we were shocked to learn that our small baby was fighting so many battles.”

Without ventilator support, the baby can’t exhale and can get seizure attacks

Little Ishwari is suffering from pneumonia caused by a bacterial infection in her body. What scare the parents most is the fact that Ishwari's brain is underdeveloped, which was causing deadly seizures. As a result, she can inhale air, but can't exhale. Without ventilator support, carbon dioxide is getting concentrated in her body which can even kill her.

“Ishwari is conscious and occasionally she even looks at us and tries to move her little hands and feet, but we can’t take her in our arms. Roma and I scared that we will lose our baby.”

 These parents cannot afford her life-saving treatment anymore

Ishwari needs to stay in the ICU to get freedom from ventilator support foreverThe parents are worried that they may have to discharge their baby earlier.

“I am in that stage where I have also begged the doctors to let me take my baby home in whatever condition she is in. I can’t afford to keep her in the hospital anymore. But I am scared that I have to carry the guilt of killing my child all my life because of poverty. I have to save her at any cost.”

Bijoy and Roma are sleeping on footpaths and skipping meals, but that isn’t enough to save Ishwari

Bijoy has already spent Rs 3 lakhs by borrowing from all his villagers and even acquaintances. Bijoy and Roma are spending their nights on the footpath. With heavy rains setting in Kolkata, the helpless parents cannot find a dry place for shelter. They are skipping meals too to save every rupee for Ishwari’s medicines and PICU care, but nothing seems enough.

“I work in a mobile shop and barely manage to earn Rs 3000 a month. For the past 20 days that I have been with my baby, I have no income. My brother is a driver who is struggling very hard to send me some help. I am neck-deep in debt and every day is becoming more difficult.”

How you can help

7-month-old Ishwari needs to stay in PICU so that her brain can grow and her infection can be treated. She needs support to be able to exhale air on her own. The cost required to save her is Rs 2 lakhs. Her parents can no longer find a way to save their only baby.

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