2-month-old heart patient from Pak gets hope from India

From M Zulqernain
Lahore, Sep 29 (PTI) Humanity knows no boundaries, the
old adage came true as parents of a two-month-old Pakistani
boy suffering from a serious heart defect, finally found hope
in an offer of help by a leading Indian hospital after running
from pillar to post.
The parents, who want to immediately rush to New Delhi
for the surgery of two-month old Ahmad, have now appealed to
the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to issue them visas at
the earliest.
After the case of Ahmad was highlighted by the Dawn
newspaper earlier this month, Ashok Seth, chairman of the
cardiology council of India's Fortis Group of Hospitals,
expressed the institution's desire to treat the boy
irrespective of whether his parents could afford the
treatment.
Ahmad, the son of a poor man named Saleem Shahzad of
Lahore, is suffering from "ventricular septal defect, arterial
septal defect and transposition of great arteries TGA, which
means blood vessels that should be on the right side are on
the left side and vice versa.
Shahzad told PTI that he had applied for visas but the
Indian High Commission had asked him to submit a bank
statement and a character certificate.
"We want to go to India as soon as possible to treat my
child. I will go to Islamabad on Monday to try and speed up
the visa process but I do not know what will happen next," he
said.
The leading Indian health institution's offer to treat
the boy came after the poor family had been running from
pillar to post to raise funds for the expensive surgery.
Shahzad said he had appealed to the officials of Indian
mission to issue the visas at the earliest.
In an email, Seth of the Fortis Group of Hospitals had
asked Ahmad's family to contact the zonal director of the
institution in Delhi, and to reach the healthcare facility as
soon as possible.
"I understand that the parents are poor and cannot afford
advanced life-saving surgical treatment. From our end, we will
like to help the child and treat him irrespective of whatever
he can afford, so as to try and save his life," Seth said in
the email.
Seth said the surgery would be performed by Rajesh
Sharma, a doctor whom the parents had chosen earlier.
"I, therefore, reiterate the parents should bring the
child here as soon as possible, so that we can proceed with
the assessment and surgery. They can bring along whatever
finances they have.
"We will bear the rest of the financials. Lack of
finances will not stop us from treating the child; this is our
commitment," Seth said.
He said the institute could send all related documents
that the parents required.