This Baby Has Been Unable To Eat For 6 Months, She Needs | Milaap
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This Baby Has Been Unable To Eat For 6 Months, She Needs Urgent Treatment To Stay Alive

“Childbirth is supposed to be a magical thing, and seeing your first child for the first time, a treasured memory. My daughter was born with a her umbilical cord choking her. At that time the doctor told me it was normal and that everything would be alright, but now… sometimes I think it was a sign of what our future had in store for us.”
– Indira, mother of baby Vedaharshini



While the doctors did correct that complication in just a minute, they quickly realized that something else was really wrong when Indira’s baby started vomiting a thick green fluid. A quick x-ray was ordered for the baby, and unfortunately, it was discovered that nearly the entire length of her small intestine was twisted beyond repair, a potentially fatal birth defect. There was only one option to keep her alive, and so just hours after she was bornbaby Vedaharshini had to go into the surgery room.


 

Of the total length of 150cm, 130cm of the baby’s intestine had to be removed


Before the surgery, the doctor came and told us… he told us to not hold any hope. That her condition meant that her chances of making it were extremely low. By some grace of God, however, our daughter survived, but she was in a critical condition.
– Bhargav, father

Because she had no intestine left to help digest things, baby Vedaharshini couldn’t eat or drink anything like normal babies. Whenever she was fed, she just vomited it back up within minutes. With the doctors’ help, the first-time parents discovered that their daughter is only able to retain 12ml of milk in one hour. But that is such a small amount that these parents have had to feed her 12ml of milk every hour, 24x7, for the past six months. Just to keep her alive.


 

Indira's life boiled down to just watching the clock hand turn hour after hour


“5,107 hours. My daughter was born on the 10th of February this year, at 9:03pm. Every hour that she has stayed alive since then has been a miracle for us, so I started keeping count as each hour passed, every time I feed her the few spoonfuls of milk. The count is now at 5,107, which means that for 5,107 hours neither of us has slept for more than half an hour at a time. For 5,107 hours my baby has been fighting to stay alive.
– Indira


“Her condition is not improving, it's getting worse. I don’t know how much longer we can go on...”


12ml an hour is just not enough, it's just a few spoonfuls. An average baby of her age needs 750ml of milk a day, which is more than double what our Vedaharshini is getting. But what can I do? If I give her more, she vomits. I have to force myself to not feed her extra, even when she looks into my eyes and cries because of how hungry she must be. My poor baby has known nothing but constant hunger for 6 months.
– Indira

Baby Vedaharshini has been moved to the ICU for critical care 8 times so far, for anywhere between 5 to 18 days each time. Her bodyweight continues to drop. At this rate, she does not have long to live. Her body needs proper nutrition, to give her intestine time to heal and stretch, but 12ml of milk every hour will not give her that.

She needs urgent and total nutrition therapy, but her parents have no money left to spend


“We have gone through our entire savings, borrowed money from our family and friends, sold so many valuables, all in just the past 6 months, to keep our daughter alive. We have nothing left except Vedaharshini now. We don’t want to lose her too.
– Indira and Bhargav

Bhargav is an employee in the private sector, and Indira is a homemaker. Life was on track for this young couple until all this happened. They have spent all their money and now have no other option but to watch their first child disappear in front of their very eyes.

Please donate whatever you can, and help keep their baby and their dreams alive. The clock is ticking for baby Vedaharshini, by the hour.

Supporting Document(s):

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 organiser or the medical team.

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