To Cure Young bravehearts of major heart disease

Rotary Int. and Army join hands with CMC Heart team

Mr Som Nath Sharma and Mrs Sharda Devi from Akhnoor (J&K), Mr Mohd

Shabir & Mrs Shamim Akhtar from Rajouri (J&K)   are extremely happy

parents today. Their children – Janu Sharma (7y) and Irfan (8y)

respectively had major heart defects with large holes in their hearts

along with defective valves. Both were not growing according to their

age and would get recurrent infections and were blue in colour . They

would land up in the emergency time and again. They are both from a

financially challenged background. They were investigated in Jammu

where the doctors advised an early major open heart surgery at an

advanced centre. Both could not afford to even travel outside J & K.

Their case was ‘adopted’ by the Army under project Sadbhawana – a

brain child of the Chief Of Army Staff – Gen Bikram Singh – and the

International Rotary India Humanity Foundation (based in Kolkata with

Mr Shekhar Mehta as the Director) which runs the Saving Little Hearts

programme. Mrs Sushmita Dasgupta with Ms Urmi Basu (sponsor) of the

Rotary took a personal interest and brought these children with their

parents to the prestigious Christian Medical College & Hospital in

Ludhiana to Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Head of Cardiac Surgery. On

investigation it was realized that only a major open heart surgery

could save both as medicines had no role and if untreated it could

even lead to death. The bright youngsters suffered from a congenital

heart defect called Tatralogy of Fallot - what is called a ‘Blue Baby’

disease. This is a defect from birth and basically leads to impure

blood mixing with pure blood due to a large hole in the heart combined

with small arteries to the lung.

Dr Bedi who has had advanced training in the treatment of such cases

at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Australia and is one

of the senior most practicing cardiac surgeons of India - told that

both children underwent a major  open heart surgery (total correction)

and are doing well. Dr Bedi said that their hearts are now normal and

both can now lead a normal healthy life.  In fact Janu now wants to be

a doctor while Irfan is aiming to be a fighter pilot. The children

were operated upon under the ‘CMC Gift of Life’ project where highly

subsidized International level cardiac surgical care is given to all

children.

Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC said that the Institute is fully

geared to take care of such children with heart defects. Dr Bedi told

that it was only because of the strong backup of Dr Jugesh Chattawl –

Prof of Paediatrics – and her team that most of the heart defects

could be safely treated in CMC. The other members of the Heart team

during the marathon surgeries were Dr A Joseph, Dr S Garg , Dr Melchi,

Dr Anish, Dr Vishal, Dr Gurleen, Dr Elizabeth, Dr Ashwin and Dr

Cynthia . The Officers of the Army took a personal interest and gave

invaluable logistic and moral help.

Pic: Master Janu and Master Irfan with Dr Harinder Singh Bedi , Dr

Jugesh Chattwal and the Heart team of CMC

For Further Details Please Contact Dr.H.S.Bedi: 9814060480