Success Story: An 8-Year-Old Triumphant Against All Odds!
‘History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.’ – Nelson Mandela
Since our inception in 2012, we at Pakistan Children’s Heart Foundation (PCHF), have helped 2633 children get heart surgery. This is the phenomenal success story of a resilient 8-year-old Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Warrior, Minahil Rizwan.
At such a young age, Minahil was diagnosed with a type of CHD known as Transposition Of The Great Arteries (TGA). The shocking news of Minahil’s disease shattered the lives of her loved ones.
TGA is a serious but rare heart defect present at birth, in which the two main arteries leaving the heart are reversed. This condition is also called dextro-transposition of the great arteries. TGA changes the way blood circulates through the body, leaving a shortage of oxygen in blood flowing from the heart to the rest of the body. Without an adequate supply of oxygen-rich blood, the body can’t function properly and the patient faces serious complications, or even death, without treatment.
We provide the highest quality of care for children born with heart disease, irrespective of their financial means. 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.
Minahil Rizwan’s family came to us all the way from Rawalpindi, with extremely high hopes for their child. Minahil’s father, Sheikh Muhammad Rizwan, is a labourer and her mother, Kiran Rizwan, a housewife. The planned treatment for her TGA was Rastelli With Pulmonary Valve Conduit.
This is extremely expensive and paying for it is unfathomable for low-income families. However, despite family income being drastically low, the family came up with just short of half of the required funds. Thanks to our exceptional donors, we managed to arrange the rest.
Thankfully, the prayers of Minahil’s loved ones were answered as her surgery was scheduled through a swift, smooth and extremely efficient process that has been perfected after years of experience facilitating CHD affected families. The procedure was blessedly a resounding success, and after a few days in the hospital under the special care of our brilliant team of healthcare professionals, Minahil Rizwan was discharged as a CHD Warrior.
We made a real difference in the lives of Minahil and her family. Together, they can now live the life of their dreams. We are trying our absolute best, leaving no stone unturned, for deserving and needful children like her.
We, and more importantly, the children suffering from CHD 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 Pakistan’s first dedicated, state-of-the-art Children’s Heart Hospital and Research Institute (CHHRI).
You can donate towards children’s heart surgeries or hospital construction at:
#MySecondInnings #Donate #Charity #PCHF #CHHRI #CHD #Zakat #Hajj
