Bravehearts of the Foundation: Baby of Subaida

Only two days old, bay of Subaida was born to Abdul Rahiman and Subaida on 30th March 2019 at Arumala Hospital in Kanhangad, Kerala. She was born weighing a healthy 3kg and the third child they have welcomed into this world together as a couple. Her elder sister Mubeena and brother Afsal were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their younger sister.

Within minutes of being born, the Doctors noticed that the baby had breathing difficulty and felt it was best for her to shift to Sun Rise Hospital in Kanhangad itself. When the baby arrived, Dr Santhosh Kumar made a phone call to Dr Mahesh, a Pediatric Cardiologist in Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi to discuss the fragile condition of the baby. She was showing signs of a congenital heart defect (CHD) and he knew that immediate diagnosis and intervention was required. We work together with this hospital and support raising money for critically ill children who are diagnosed with CHD.

Imagine, so new into this world, and she was wheeled from one hospital to another. But Abdul and Subaida kept reminding themselves that this was for the best. She was now taken in an ambulance alongside her father to Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. On 31st March she was received by Dr Krishna Kumar at the IMCU in the hospital. It was time to figure out what was wrong with the baby and what could be done to make her well and at ease.

The first step was to conduct an Echo, and the results confirmed the suspected diagnosis – she had a congenital heart disorder called Transposition of Great Arteries. Their daughter needed surgery – for which the cost was approximately Rs 3,70,000. Abdul was horrified that his daughter was at the brink of losing her life. He felt helpless as he could not arrange such a large sum of money for her treatment, but he did manage to take a private loan to cover parts of the cost. He is a daily wage worker who brings home a monthly earning of Rs 3000 per month. If there is no availability of work, this amount lessens further. Managing a family of now three children on a fluctuating and meagre income was extremely stressful for them. The family required financial support to bridge the gap.

Through our partnership with the hospital, we were aware of this case and immediately committed financial support for the amount required for the surgery. The baby was operated on by Dr Brijesh P K on 6th April and spent a fair amount of time recovering in the IMCU.

In India, around 12,000 children require an arterial switch operation every year for Transposition of Great Arteries. Some of which, are incredibly challenging and rare – but we don’t bow out of the fight to ensure that these little hearts get the best available timely treatment.

The baby of Subaida is now home, and everyone in the family has a special love for her and are grateful that she is alive and well today. In turn, we as a Foundation are fulfilling our mission in raising money for critically ill children such as this little baby who need not only monetary support but optimum medical intervention and guidance to overcome an unfamiliar and scary road to find basic well-being.