Fatima Zehra, who is only 28 days old, made a miraculous recovery from her heart condition. PHOTO: EXPRESS
She was born with a condition that had left her trachea and oesophagus connected and her heart on the right side instead of the left. Doctors had told the family that she needed to be operated within three days otherwise her survival chances would be extremely low. They needed Rs500,000 for the operation, which her father, Junaid, an electrician by profession, could not afford.
The news of the child’s plight was telecast by a team of Express News. The news received an overwhelming response from viewers and donations started pouring in for the child’s treatment. The team got Fatima admitted to the Aga Khan Hospital where she was operated and subsequently kept in the NICU for 12 days. Around Rs850,000 were spent on the complete treatment.
“We could never have imagined that people would be willing to donate such a large amount for the treatment of our daughter,” said Fatima’s 29-year-old father.
The child’s mother, Abida, said, “I was longing to hold my daughter in my arms as she has been in the hospital since she was three days old. Today, I am very happy to be taking her home with me.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2013.
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