Attiya’s Success Story
Since inception in 2012, we at Pakistan Children’s Heart Foundation (PCHF), have financially supported 5,470 child heart procedures. This is the success story of 11-year-old Attiya, 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.
A few years after Attiya was born, signs and symptoms of CHD started appearing in her. She used to have breathing difficulties and suffer from bouts of fever regularly. Her family, noticing that this was not normal, intially took her to a local doctor in their hometown of Toba Tek Singh.
Suspecting the presence of a CHD, the doctor told the family to get a more detailed check-up at a hospital in Faisalabad. That is where Attiya underwent an Echocardiography (ECHO), which is a cardiac ultrasound. The results of this test confirmed that Attiya had a potentially life-threatening heart condition.
This was truly shattering news for Attiya’s family and to save her life, they had to start searching for treatment options immediately. They first tried to get her surgery done in Faisalabad but found it unaffordable.
Attiya’s father teaches at a religious school and is the sole breadwinner in a family of 7. He was in desperate need of financial support. Luckily for him, a friend of his who is based in Lahore informed him about our organization. This was the moment his fortune’s started changing.
He wasted no time whatsoever in contacting us and scheduling a meeting with our team. Being among the premier ogranizations in the country when it comes to saving lives of deserving children like Attiya who are suffering from CHD, he was coming to the right place.
After swiftly evaluating the case, we were pleased to tell him that we would be able to financially support his daughter’s heart surgery. This was possible thanks to our generous donor base, both organizations and individuals who believe in our cause.
Commendably, Attiya’s father also arranged a portion of the required funds. Once all formalities were taken care of, the procedure known as an ASD Closure was scheduled at one of our partner hospitals, the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital (ULTH).
A world-class team of CHD healthcare professionals carried out the heart surgery and once it was complete, it was our privilege to tell Attiya’s loved ones that she had defeated CHD! Attiya was now a ‘CHD Warrior’. She survived an unprecedented challenge and was now poised to thrive.
For the whole family, a new beginning awaits, one that all of them were eagerly anticipating. At the time of discharge, Attiya’s father mentioned how grateful he was to us and that after this life-altering experience, he hoped that his daughter would also grow up to help people like we do.
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 PCHF 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/
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