Hale and hearty Aftaab with Dr HS Bedi after his heart surgery
NRI comes to rescue of a poor child with Congenital Heart Disease
By Raju William
Ludhiana, April 14, 2018: Aftaab Hussain, a six year old male child and resident of Mullanpur near Ludhiana was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect-a large Patent Ductus Arteriosis (PDA).
His parents Naseem Ansari and Saira Bano brought him to Dr. HS Bedi, noted cardiac and vascular surgeon based at Ludhiana. The treatment was to cost Rs one lakh but the patient’s parents, daily wager by profession, found it hugely unaffordable.
They told Dr Bedi that their son had difficulty in breathing and an abnormally loud heart beat since the time of his birth. Aftaab, father Naseem said he had consulted a few city hospitals for the treatment of his child. His local doctor in Mullanpur referred him to Dr. Bedi, who has worked in Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Australia.
Time was of the essence as a delay in treatment would have meant a heart-lung transplant for Aftaab. Dr. Bedi offered concession as well as financial help to the patient.
Naseem also approached Gurnaam Singh Sekhon, an NRI from Canada, who was coincidentally on a visit to India. The Good Samaritan, who was a school teacher in Ludhiana before migrating to Calgary, Canada, met Dr. Bedi and immediately offered to pay the whole amount for the child’s treatment
After examining the child and doing his Echocardiograph, the cardiovascular surgeon decided that the child needed immediate heart surgery as the congenital defect was causing damage to his heart as well as lungs.
Dr. Bedi successfully performed Aftaab’s delicate heart surgery on April 10. The heart surgeon remarked that this child patient’s congenital heart defect (PDA) was one of the largest he had ever seen.
The patient’s heart and lungs have started recovering fast after the surgery. According to Dr. Bedi, Aftaab should have a normal life span now and should be able to follow any profession he desires.