Maheer’s Success Story
Since inception in 2012, we at Pakistan Children’s Heart Foundation (PCHF), have financially supported 5,613 child heart procedures. This is the success story of 2-year-old Maheer, who was diagnosed with a Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) called Tetralogy Of Fallot (TOF).
In TOF, 4 related heart defects affect blood flow. In most cases, too little blood goes to the lungs. Low-oxygen blood then circulates to the rest of the body and not enough oxygen can reach body tissues. Children with TOF often have cyanosis, a blue or purple tint to the skin, lips and fingernails.
6 months after her birth, Maheer’s parents noticed that she had cyanosis. They firstly took her to a local doctor in their hometown of Dera Ismail Khan. Little did they know, what was to be revealed.
The doctor suspected that Maheer had CHD and therefore she had to undergo an Echocardiography (ECHO), which is a cardiac ultrasound. The results of this test confirmed the presence of a potentially life-threatening heart condition.
Maheer’s parents were shattered after hearing the news. They were told to travel to Lahore and go to the renowned Children’s Hospital for treatment options. However, their worries would only increase as after continuous visits they were told that the queue there was very long.
To make matters worse, the family also needed financial support. Maheer’s father works as a labourer and is the sole breadwinner in a family of 4. He could not afford the required heart procedure.
That is where Dr. Salman A. Shah comes in. The family met him at Children’s Hospital and being a Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon who is also a PCHF Medical Advisory Board Member, he referred the family to us. This is the moment things would turn around for them.
Maheer’s father contacted us immediately and our team scheduled a meeting with the family. Once they came to us and we were able to evaluate the case, they were told that we would be able to financially support Maheer’s heart surgery.
This was thanks to our incredible donor base, both organizations and individuals who believe in our cause. We are grateful beyond measure to them for their generous support. Long may it continue.
The surgery known as a total correction would take place at the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital (ULTH), which is one of our partner hospitals. A brilliant team of CHD healthcare professionals was on board and the family was told that she was in the best of hands.
Maheer’s heart surgery lasted for a few hours which will most likely be the most stressful time in the lives of her loved ones. Following its completion though, we were thrilled to inform them that Maheer hadovercome CHD! She was now a ‘CHD Warrior’ who had shone through adversity.
The entire family felt so thankful to us and were looking forward to their new journey together. Maheer’s father mentioned how he hoped that she would grow up to become a doctor so she could help other children like her. We hope she goes on to achieve all her dreams and more!
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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