The Hindu Business Line : A hearty gesture to ailing kids

SIXTY-year-old Raut, a cardiac patient from Orissa, came to Hyderabad for a bypass surgery. But after being admitted to Apollo Hospitals for pre-surgery check-ups, he had decided against going for the surgery.

Instead, he wanted to spend the money on children who had been admitted to the hospital after the August 7 rally. His reason was simple - that anyway he was quite aged and the children had got many springs to live on.

"I was a teacher for 34 years and spent all my life with children. Some of them are jewels. They are the future of the country. It pained me to read about the magnitude of the problem. And I have decided to use all the money I brought for my operation to help out at least a few of them," Mr Raut told a press conference. Doctors, however, advised the retired headmaster from Orissa against cancelling his surgery. They asked him to spread the message instead.

Four students of Shadan College too were moved by the magnitude of the problem.

They joined hands and collected donations from fellow students, teachers and other staff. They have donated an amount of Rs 25,000 for the Save a Child's Heart (SACH) organisation.

SACH, being promoted by the Apollo Hospitals family, had so far screened 20,000 children for heart diseases and provided an assistance of nearly Rs 1 crore to 154 children.

After the August 7 rally by hundreds of children suffering from heart diseases, Apollo Children's Heart Hospital screened a total of 1,000 children. Of these, 47 underwent surgeries.

As many as 500 more need to undergo interventions. The Government had recently announced that it would give Rs 25,000 (one-third of the total cost) towards the cost of equipment.

"On our part, we have decided to bear another one-third. But this is not enough. Gravity of the problem is so severe that the government, hospitals, organisations and people could do little individually. It should be a collective effort," Ms Sangitha Reddy, Director (Operations) of Apollo Hospitals, said.

Dr K.S. Murthy, a paediatric cardiac surgeon, said identification of the problem at an early age held the key. "Once operated upon, they can look after themselves well. Quality of life would be as good as any other normal child," he said.

Dr Hariprasad, Vice-President (Medical), said the Government's decision to give Rs 25,000 for every surgery could be made a platform to pool up further resources.

More Stories on : Health | Children & Parenting | Andhra Pradesh

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page