Family hopes online plea can save their newborn

Parents confirm no doctor has ever performed the Norwood procedure in Pakistan

LAHORE: July 29 is a date with little significance for most, but it was on that day Muhammad Faisal’s life was turned on its head.

On that fateful morning, his life started revolving around visits to hospitals and all senior medics he was able to establish contact with. Despite Faisal’s best efforts, the pain he experienced could not be alleviated.



His pain was mental and emotional, but it was nothing compared to the discomfort suffered by his newborn son Rohaan Ali who came into this world with a rare heart congenital defect. “It shook the very foundations of my whole family. Now, I just want my son to be healthy.”

Rohaan’s mother, Mehwish Mukhtar, narrates the tale about the pain suffered by her own flesh and blood. “On day 5, I felt that Rohaan was less active and not able to sleep. We talked to a specialist who suggested some blood tests.”



She further states that tests confirmed that Rohaan was suffering from a serious case of jaundice so he went through phototherapy. During treatment, doctors diagnosed a high respiratory rate with low oxygen level and heard a strange noise emanating from his chest. The medial professionals immediately suggested that a chest X-.ray be taken at the soonest.  “During the procedure, his heart rate increased and he was given oxygen,” she recalls.

She said later the doctors diagnosed a rare heart congenital defect that is Aortic Atresia.

It means that the child was born into this world with a big hole in the heart, “Doctors suggested urgent Norwood heart surgery as the baby had been surviving on PDA,” she says.

The mother claims that no doctor has ever performed the Norwood procedure in Pakistan. To add to the problem, expenses are high and the family needs every last penny to save the life of their beloved child.

Faisal says he has two sons and the elder one is just three-years-old. “He keeps his brother protected and does not let anybody near him. This entire situation is very painful for my family, as without money, it is impossible to save the life of a child,” he added.

He further states the family took Rohaan to another senior cardiologist for a second opinion and an echocardiogram discovered that his son had no sign of aorta. “He is living on PDA and the doctor suggested that we meet a cardiac surgeon immediately. “You do not have much time,” the father remembers being told by the doctor.

Ittifaq Hospital Paediatric Cardiac Surgery visiting consultant Dr Muhammad Asim Khan also confirms that Rohaan suffers from a severe problem and needed urgent attention. This is further verified by Dr Masood Sadiq, a senior child cardiologist at the same hospital. His report is also available on Rohaan’s Facebook page.



“Then we rushed to other senior consultants and all suggested that Rohaan need the Norwood heart surgery plus a Blalock–Taussig shunt. This is a procedure that has never been done in Pakistan,” the father recalls.

“That is why we have created a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HelpRohaan/ to collect donations for the medical expenses of the baby” he said. “I hope there is someone or people who are out there and can help save my child.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2017.