“My wife keeps asking me why all of this is happening to our baby. I try and console her but I am out of words. Nothing I say can calm her. She knows full well that if our baby boy is taken out of the ICU he will die of a failing heart. She also knows that I have nothing left with me with which I can continue our son’s treatment. Every passing day we live in the fear of losing our little one,” - Mallesh, father.
The little baby has hardly known the warmth of a mother’s hug
Narsamma had a problem-free normal delivery at her mother’s place in Tandur. But she knew everything with her baby was not normal because he didn’t cry at birth. The baby boy was immediately rushed to the NICU.“He was there for 3 days but then the doctors told us that they couldn’t cure my son. We had to take him to Hyderabad in an ambulance. It was here that we learnt our son has been born with heart disease. They said only a surgery can cure him but my son had fever and infections then. We were given medicines and were asked to come back after few months.”
We had thought the surgery would cure him completely, but it didn’t
Mallesh and Narsamma’s baby boy was born with defects in his heart. His heart chambers were not connected as it is in a normal person’s heart - he also had a hole in his heart. He underwent arterial switch operation last Friday but in spite of being healthy, the baby boy has developed other complications. His left ventricle (the bottom left chamber of his heart) is not pumping blood to the rest of his body.
“My son’s heart is still not working. A machine is being used to pump the blood - the doctors have told me that they can’t afford to take him off that support. That is his only hope at living. He is in the ICU and we are allowed to see him only twice a day for only a few minutes. They rest of the time we hold hands and pray for our son - there is nothing more we can do.”
Mallesh has lost all hope of saving his baby boy but you can help him
A poor farmer in a small village in Vikarabad, Telangana Mallesh hardly has any savings. His income is negligible, just enough to support his family. But that didn’t stop him from getting his son treated. He has borrowed from his family and had somehow afforded the heart surgery for his son. But now this complication has thrown him off the track.
“I am already in debt and each day the bills are piling up. I have paid almost Rs 40,000 in 7 days for my son’s treatment and that isn’t 1/4th the amount I am expected to pay. My son needs to stay in the ICU for at least a week more doctors have said that he has great chances of getting well soon. But I would need 20 lakhs. Without help, I will never be able to arrange so much. Please help me or I will lose my son.”
Mallesh and Narsamma's 4-year-old daughter, Shravani keeps calling her parents. She wants to be with them and her little brother. But her parents can't go back home unless their baby is cured. You can help these parents save their baby boy.
Supporting Document
The specifics of this case have been verified by the medical team at the concerned hospital. For any clarification on the treatment or associated costs, contact the campaign organizer or the medical team.
