The scene that confronted Roja when she saw her baby for the first time was beyond every parent’s worst nightmare. Everything was a blur of blue lights, tubes and bleeping. Her joy of giving birth to twins was clouded by the suffering of one of the twins who was taken to the NICU soon after his birth. The hope and anticipation of bringing home two healthy babies came to a grinding halt for this young couple Roja and Bala Murugan. Baby Ruthiran is barely 2-months-old and. His life is now in danger and only an urgent heart surgery can save his life.

"I live in a sort of void and grief is killing me every second"

When Roja went for her first ultrasound, two sacs were clearly visible on the screen.  In one sac, it was possible to detect a heartbeat, while the other was blurry and indistinct. "It happens sometimes," the technician explained and assured her not to worry. She prayed to God everyday "don't let me lose this baby," she said. Unfortunately, her worst nightmares came true. One of her twins was born with a severe heart disease and is struggling for breath every second. She was completely shattered and did not know if she has to feel relieved that at least one of her twins is healthy or to grieve about her baby who is suffering in pain.

"We bought everything in twos - two cots, two blankets, two pairs of socks for our babies. It is painful to see that one of it is unused in our home. I fear that it'll remain unused. I can't bear the emptiness. Every time I hold Rudresh in my arms, I'm disturbed by the thought that he might miss his twin brother, my fear and pain is just overwhelming." - Roja.

Baby Ruthiran needs a heart surgery at the earliest to survive

Baby Ruthiran is diagnosed with a heart condition called transposition of great arteries which means the aorta is connected to the right ventricle, and the pulmonary artery is connected to the left ventricle — the opposite of a normal heart's anatomy and VSD which is a hole in the heart that divides the chambers of the heart and  pulmonary arterial hypertension, a type of high blood pressure that affects arteries in the lungs and in the heart. The only option to save the baby's life is an urgent heart surgery. Every passing day is a risk on his life without the surgery.

"He weighs only 2.3 kgs. He drinks milk only twice a day and falls short of breath often. He cries uncontrollably and turns blue within few hours. I began to tremble when he struggles to breathe. Medicines do not help him. He hardly sleeps. I live in constant fear of losing him." - Roja.

His poor father cannot afford the life-saving heart surgery

Bala Murugan is a labourer in a small private company in Chennai. He stayed alone in Chennai and visited his wife who resided in Karaikudi twice in a month. Now he has rented a small room in Chennai for his wife to stay and take care of the babies. It has been overwhelming for them to run back and forth to the hospital with the twins. He earns Rs 9000 per month, but the room rent alone costs 5000 and he can hardly make ends meet. He needs 5 lakhs for the surgery and has no means to arrange such a huge sum in a short time.

"I started saving money from the day my wife's pregnancy was confirmed. I did not take even one day off from work, because I knew  every rupee counts and I was determined to provide everything for my twins. Now, I have exhausted  whatever little I had for my baby's treatment. I don't know have anything left. My wife has stopped eating, we hardly sleep, we are helpless." - Bala Murugan.

How You Can Help

Baby Ruthiran is battling a severe heart disease and only an urgent heart surgery can save his life. His parents are in extreme pain and guilt, they live in constant fear of losing one of the twin babies. His poor parents are left with nothing and your help can save this baby's life and make this young couple live a happy life with their twins.

Your contribution can save the life of newborn baby Ruthiran