“I get scared that her heart will stop if she cries, or laughs, or plays. I am scared she won’t be alive tomorrow. I live every day, worrying if it will be our last with her. I cannot breathe when she turns blue. But she is almost always blue.” – Priya (mother)
Since the day their daughter was born, Saravanan and Priya have been shuttling between hospitals. Between trying to save her from a heart defect, and paying bills, they have not even been able to call her by her true name, Yamini, afraid that it would shorten her life span. 1-year-old now, this little girl is still known as Baby of Priya. Every time the nurse calls out this name, Priya’s heart stops. While she is hopeful they can find a way to save her daughter, she worries it won’t happen within the given time
Yamini was born with several defects in her heart. As a result, she would choke on milk, find it hard to breathe as if the room did not have enough air, and often turn blue from lack of oxygen. Defects like this can be fixed only in stages as the child grows up. It also needs to happen within a strict timeframe.
“When she was just 7 months old, she got her first heart surgery to help her breathe better. The doctor told us she may need another around the age of 1. We are below poverty line family. Thankfully, the first time we used the government health card. This time I don’t know what to do.”
Yamini is growing up fast and time is running out to fix her heart
Yamini’s heart is not strong enough to support her body if she starts walking. She is an extreme active, friendly, and mischievous baby girl, which makes her condition more dangerous. It would have to beat faster, harder, and with only one properly functioning ventricle, an arteriovenous canal defect, it will not be able to handle the strain. She immediately needs a high-risk surgery called Kawashima operation, to fix all these major defects.“We were given two months. If we don’t do the surgery within that, it will be too late to fix things. Weeks are going by and I still cannot arrange 4 lakhs needed for it.”
Saravanan works as a hairdresser in a local saloon and Priya cares for the family. The family, originally from Tindivanam has been roaming from hospital to hospital in Chennai for 6 months now. That’s 6 months without a decent income.
“Our health card cannot help us now. I listen to her heart beating. It sounds like a butterfly is inside fluttering sometimes, and sometimes it is so slow. It is killing us to see her cry out of pain suddenly. We don’t even know why or what is affecting her. All I know is, we need to arrange that money soon. Otherwise, one day, she will sleep and not wake up again.”Your contribution is the only way Priya can save her baby girl’s heart.
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.
Click here to save Baby of Priya.
