Bravehearts of the Foundation: Priya Prajapati

Rita and Prabhu have three children – the eldest one is twelve-year-old, beautiful Priya Prajapati. Three years ago, Priya developed a high fever and was rushed to a local pediatrician for a diagnosis. The doctor prescribed medicines and noticed that she was showing difficulty in breathing. He recommended that Rita and Prabhu take her to consult with a cardiologist. Priya’s father took her to a government hospital in Varanasi, where they did an Echo and their world fell apart when they discovered their daughter was suffering from a heart disorder.

The exact diagnosis was a heart disease called a Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV) with a sub aortic Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). The nature of this disease is such that both the great vessels originate from the right ventricle, as a result impure blood from the right ventricle flows to the body through the Aorta. She was given more medicines, and asked to come back for a follow-up check in a year’s time. But as time passed, Priya’s problems only escalated – she got recurrent fevers, and every time it resulted to hospitalization. This was a strain on the family mentally, as they were so worried and of course put pressures on their finances. It also affected school, as her attendance was irregular.

At this age, children love to go to school and be with their friends. The hardship this little girl was facing, was not what any child should have to take on. Her father cleans cars and earns approximately Rs 4000 per month. Through his job, he came across a doctor who knew of a pediatric cardiologist in the US. He was kind enough to send Priya’s reports to him, and the doctor in the US recommended that Priya be taken to Miot Hospital, in Chennai for more answers.

Rita and Prabhu had never left Varanasi, they weren’t familiar with traveling and didn’t have the finances to do so. They borrowed money from friends and family and after a forty-hour grueling 2100km journey, they reached Chennai.

All they could do was pray that their daughter could be treated, after Priya got admitted in the hospital, an angiography was done to ascertain the lung pressure. The doctors reached out to us as the family could not afford surgery, without which their daughter would not survive. With the support from WPP India CSR Foundation, we committed ourselves in saving her heart, so she can live the life that she’s been gifted. It was a challenging case, as a tunnel was created using a VSD patch to connect the aorta to the left ventricle, and the pulmonary valve was opened. She has been discharged and is doing well, she is back alongside her family and enjoying things like drawing that she has a passion for.

It is a joy for us to save as many little hearts like Priyas’ who need saving as financially they cannot afford treatment.