Success Story: A 5-Year-Old With Indomitable Perseverance
“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” – John F. Kennedy
Since our inception in 2012, we at Pakistan Children’s Heart Foundation (PCHF), have helped 2763 children get heart surgery. This is the remarkable success story of Haris, a 5-year-old ‘Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Warrior’ who showed indomitable perseverance.
Haris was diagnosed with a CHD known as Tetralogy Of Fallot (TOF). This was devastating news for his family. In TOF, four related heart defects change the way blood flows to the lungs and through the heart. In most cases, too little blood goes to the lungs. This low-oxygen blood then circulates to the rest of the body, and too little oxygen reaches the body tissues. Children with TOF often have cyanosis, a blue or purple tint to the skin, lips and fingernails.
Every year, around 60,000 children are born with CHD in Pakistan and a large majority of these children are unable to get the treatment required, due to lack of facilities, personnel and the high costs involved. That is where we step in. We provide the highest quality of care for children with heart disease, irrespective of their financial means.
Haris and his family came to us all the way from the Dera Ghazi Khan. They had tremendously high hopes, and were looking to end their enormous plight. His father works as an Office Boy and his mother is a housewife. He also has 3 siblings, all brothers. With limited resources at their disposal, arranging funds for a relatively expensive heart surgery, which costs around PKR 450,000, was unfathomable for his family.
Thankfully, because of our phenomenal donor base, may God bless them all, we were able to arrange all the required funds in practically no time. From hospital related formalities to accommodation to the actual surgery, everything was taken care of entirely by us.
The planned treatment for Haris is called a Total Correction. In this procedure, the Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon, in this case Dr. Salman Shah at our very own Pediatric Cardiac Care Centre at the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital (ULTH), widens the passageway between the right ventricle and pulmonary artery to improve blood flow to the lungs.
Blessedly, the prayers of the whole family and loved ones were answered as the surgery was a huge success! After a few days in the hospital under the special care of our brilliant team of healthcare professionals, Haris was discharged as a CHD Warrior.
We made a real difference in the lives of Haris and his family. Together, they can now live the life of their dreams. We, and more importantly, children like Haris who are suffering from CHD, the world’s most common birth defect, vitally require your support.
Legendary Pakistani cricketer, Misbah Ul Haq, has also joined us on the journey to conquering CHD in Pakistan, by helping build the nation’s first dedicated, state-of-the-art Children’s Heart Hospital & Research Institute (CHHRI).
You can donate towards children’s heart surgeries or hospital construction at:
#MySecondInnings #Donate #Charity #PCHF #CHHRI #CHD #Zakat #Hajj
