Abdullah’s Success Story
This is the #SuccessStory of a 7-year-old #CHDWarrior, Abdullah. He was diagnosed with a Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) called Coarctation of the Aorta #COA, in which a part of the aorta is narrower than usual. When the aorta is severely narrow, it could be life-threatening.
During infancy symptoms include difficulty in breathing and feeding, heavy sweating, irritability, pale skin etc. After infancy children may have chest pain, headaches, high blood pressure, nosebleeds, muscle weakness among other signs. Other heart defects can also occur simultaneously with it.
When Abdullah was around 5 years old, he was diagnosed with CHD and that left his family devastated. They immediately started the search for his treatment and took him to visit a few doctors for their guidance on what to do moving forward. All of them recommended surgery, the cost of which was too high for Abdullah’s family.
Abdullah’s father is a government employee who resides in Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and he supports his entire family which includes his wife and 4 children, all by himself. He really needed financial support for his son’s life-saving heart surgery and to ease the burden on the whole family.
Abdullah’s family eventually made their way to Lahore and that is where they met Dr. Asim Khan, a world-class Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon who is also our Medical Advisory Board Member. He referred the family to us, and thanks to our remarkable donor base, we readily stepped in.
With all hospital-related formalities taken care of and the required funds secured, we managed to schedule Abdullah’s surgery Ittefaq Hospital, one of our partner hospitals in Lahore, in practically no time. A tremendous team of healthcare professionals was to carry out the procedure.
We assured Abdullah’s family that everything possible would be done to save his life and all we needed from them were their prayers. We have vast experience treating children with CHD, the world’s most common birth defect, and Abdullah was, blessedly, to be no different for us.
Following the complex procedure which required immense focus and skill, we were delighted beyond measure to inform Abdullah’s family that he had overcome the unprecedented challenge of CHD! They were both overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotion.
At the time of discharge, they wished us continued success in all our projects and we are grateful to them for their words of kindness. Abdullah has had an inspirational childhood, one that he can tell stories about his whole life, which will now be like all other normal people around him.
For CHD affected families, no matter how hard things get, no matter how impossible things may seem, we are here for you. Our goal is to ensure that not a single child suffering from CHD in Pakistan remains untreated. Legendary Pakistani cricketer, Misbah Ul Haq, is also alongside us on our journey to conquering CHD, as a PCHF Board Member. #MySecondInnings #Misbah
We humbly request you to join hands with us and donate towards child heart treatment or the construction of Pakistan’s first dedicated, state-of-the-art Children’s Heart Hospital & Research Institute (CHHRI). #PlayYourPartSaveLittleHearts #CHD #PCHF #CHHRI #Donate #Charity #Zakat #ConqueringCHD #CHDAwareness
