Umar’s Success Story
Since inception in 2012, we at Pakistan Children’s Heart Foundation (PCHF) have helped fund 3700 life-saving heart surgeries/interventions. This is the success story of Umar, who as an infant was diagnosed with a Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) called a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD).
A VSD is a birth defect in which there is a hole in the wall (septum) that separates the 2 upper chambers (ventricles) of the heart. This leads to extra blood being pumped into the lungs and forces the heart to work harder. If this is not repaired the risk of heart failure or other complications like a stroke increases.
When Umar starting suffering from signs and symptoms of CHD, his parents immediately took him to a local doctor in their hometown of Bahawalnagar. They were extremely worried and could not bear the sight of their child in pain.
After a thorough investigation, Umar’s heart condition was discovered and because of its severity, life-saving surgery was recommended. The family was told to go visit Dr. Faiz Rasool, a Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon in Lahore who also happens to be a PCHF Medical Advisory Board Member.
In the meeting with Dr. Faiz, they were informed of the procedure that was required to heal the child’s heart. It is called a ‘VSD Closure’ and is relatively expensive. Umar’s father mentioned that he would need financial support.
He is a labourer who solely supports his family, which includes his wife and 4 children. Stuck in a tremendously difficult financial situation, he needed our help to arrange all the funds that were needed. That’s where our donor base comes to the fore.
With their support, we managed to get the funds in practically no time and scheduled his surgery at our Cardiac Care Center at the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital (ULTH), where over 1000 free child heart surgeries have taken place.
Dr. Faiz was to perform the surgery himself with a world-class team of healthcare professionals alongside him. All other formalities were taken care of and Umar was now about to undergo something that could be life-altering for both him and his family, who were hoping and praying for the best.
Umar’s loved ones were going through an unimaginably strenuous time as his surgery was being carried out by our team. So, once it was complete, we were thrilled to inform them that Umar had overcome CHD!
He had fought and persevered as a ‘CHD Warrior’. A normal life is now on the horizon for his whole family. With the support of our donors, we are blessed to be able to save deserving children like him so that they can go on to fulfil their hopes and dreams.
His family, especially his father who was full of praise for us, felt happiness like they had never experienced before. As they left, they said that our organization would always be in their prayers and wished us continued success in all our projects.
For CHD affected families, no matter how hard things get, no matter how impossible things may seem, we 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, by helping build the nation’s first dedicated Children’s Heart Hospital & Research Institute (CHHRI), as a PCHF Board Member.
You can join us as well and donate towards child heart treatment or hospital construction. Together, let’s do our utmost to save young lives and help shape a brighter future. Play your part, save little hearts: https://pchf.org.pk/donate/
#SuccessStory #CHDWarrior #VSD
#MisbahUlHaq #MySecondInnings #Misbah
#PCHF #CHHRI #Donate #Charity #Zakat
#PlayYourPartSaveLittleHearts #CHD
