Aleeha’s Success Story
Since inception in 2012, we at Pakistan Children’s Heart Foundation (PCHF), have financially supported 6,255 child heart procedures. This is the success story of 17-year-old Aleeha, who was diagnosed with a Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) called an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD).
An ASD is a hole in the wall (septum) between the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart. This hole increases the amount of blood that flows through the lungs. A large, long-standing ASD can damage both the heart and lungs. Symptoms include irregular heartbeats, fatigue, swelling etc.
Aleeha and her family reside in Vehari, a major agricultural city of Punjab. When she was around 3 years old, her parents had a feeling that her growth was stunted and that she had a lack of appetite.
They first took her to a local doctor who carried out a thorough medical check-up. This is how the family found out about the hole in her heart. They were shocked by the news and were told to take Aleeha to the renowned Children’s Hospital in Lahore.
After going there, they were told that Aleeha could need heart surgery later in life. Years later, unfortunately, this became a necessity and because of the estimated cost of the required procedure, the family would need financial support.
Aleeha’s father is a factor worker and the sole breadwinner in a family of 5. To make matters even more complicated, the waiting queue at Children’s Hospital Lahore was massive. It would take years for their turn to come.
In the search for treatment options, eventually, Aleeha’s family met Dr. M. Asim Khan, who is a renowned Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon and also a PCHF Medical Advisory Board Member. After listening to the case, Dr. Asim referred the family to our organization.
We are among the very best when it comes to saving lives of deserving patients like Aleeha who are suffering from Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). This is mainly because of our incredible donor base that we are grateful beyond measure for.
Aleeha’s father called us and our team told him to come get the case evaluated. Once that was done, we were pleased to tell them that the surgery would be scheduled just one week later at Ittefaq Hospital (Trust) Lahore, which is one of our partner hospitals.
A world-class team of CHD healthcare professionals was on board and the family was told that Aleeha was in safe hands. All formalities were taken care of and the only thing needed now were prayers.
The procedure lasted for a few hours after which we were thrilled to inform Aleeha’s loved ones that she had defeated CHD! She was now a ‘CHD Warrior’ and her heart was a testament to her tremendous courage.
Her family was overwhelmed with emotion. At the time of discharge, her mother had tears of joy and thanked us for everything we had done for them. She said that after her experience with us, she wishes for her daughter to become a doctor. We sincerely hope that Aleeha goes on to achieve greatness in life.
For CHD affected families, no matter how hard things get, no matter how impossible things may seem, we at PCHF – charity you can trust with all your heart, are here for you. Our goal is to ensure that not a single child born with CHD in Pakistan remains untreated.
Legendary Pakistani cricketer, Misbah Ul Haq, is also alongside us on our journey to conquering CHD, as a Board Member and Brand Ambassador of our flagship project, Pakistan’s first dedicated Children’s Heart Hospital & Research Institute.
You can join us as well and donate towards child heart treatment or our state-of-the-art healthcare facility. Together, let’s do our utmost to save young lives and help shape a brighter future. To donate towards healing little hearts: https://pchf.org.pk/donate/
https://pchf.org.pk/banks-list/
#SuccessStory #CHDWarrior #ASD
#MisbahUlHaq #MySecondInnings #Misbah
#CHD #ConqueringCHD #CHDAwareness
#ACharityYouCanTrustWithAllYourHeart
#HealingLittleHearts
