Kolhapur, Maharashtra

The following is the confirmed medical status as documented by Sai Sparsh Children's Hospital, Kolhapur, dated 23/10/2026:

Patient : Baby of Megha Kailas Vhatkar (Female)

Age at Last Update : 9 Days

Birth Weight : 1.5 kg (Very Low Birth Weight — VLBW)

Gestational Age at Birth : 30 weeks (Extreme Preterm — 10 weeks early)

Date of Admission : 19/10/2026

Hospital : Sai Sparsh Children's Hospital, Kolhapur

Expected NICU Duration : 1 month

Confirmed Diagnoses

• Extreme Prematurity (30 weeks) with Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW — 1.5 kg) — born ten weeks too early with multiple organ systems not yet fully developed

• Transient Tachypnoea of the Newborn (TTN) — a condition in which fluid in the lungs takes longer than normal to clear after birth, causing rapid breathing and requiring oxygen support; common in premature babies delivered by caesarean section

• Neonatal Jaundice (Hyperbilirubinemia) — serum bilirubin of 10.2 mg/dL on Day 4 (normal: below 1.1 mg/dL); the immature liver cannot clear bilirubin efficiently, causing jaundice that requires active phototherapy treatment

• Borderline CRP elevation (4.76 mg/L on Day 4) — CRP is an inflammation marker; while still below the infection threshold of 6 mg/L, it is being closely monitored to detect any early signs of infection

Current Treatment Requirements

• Oxygen (O2) support — continuous supplemental oxygen to support breathing while the lungs clear and mature

• Phototherapy — intensive light therapy to break down and reduce dangerously elevated bilirubin causing jaundice; bilirubin levels are being monitored every 1–2 days

• Incubator care and temperature regulation — the baby cannot maintain her own body temperature; the incubator provides a controlled warm environment

• Parenteral and managed enteral nutrition — nutrients delivered intravenously and through careful tube feeding as the gut matures

• Infection surveillance — CRP and CBC monitoring to detect any developing infection early and respond immediately

• Daily clinical review by the neonatal team — assessment of breathing, bilirubin, weight gain, and all vital parameters

  Estimated Cost of Treatment NICU Treatment (1 month) : ₹2,00,000 – ₹3,00,000

  Medicines :₹60,000 – ₹70,000

  Total Estimated Cost :₹3,70,000/- (Three Lakh Seventy Thousand Only)

  Why This Is Critical

  A bilirubin of 10.2 mg/dL is nearly ten times the normal upper limit. Without sustained phototherapy, bilirubin at these levels can cross into the brain and cause kernicterus — permanent neurological damage affecting hearing, movement, and cognitive development. The medical team is managing this actively, but it requires continuous treatment and monitoring.

  At 30 weeks and 1.5 kg, every organ system still needs weeks of supported development before it can function independently. The NICU is not just a place of treatment — it is a place where her body is being given the time it lost when she arrived ten weeks early. One month of that time is what stands between her and going home.

  Their daughter has been in this world for nine days. She has already shown the kind of tenacity that makes the doctors cautiously hopeful. But tenacity alone cannot pay for the oxygen, the phototherapy, the monitoring, and the month of NICU care she still needs.

  Your support — whatever you can give — goes directly toward the care that is giving this little girl the best possible chance of going home healthy.

  She is 9 days old. She weighs 1.5 kg. She is fighting. Please help her finish the fight.

  Please help Megha and Kailas bring their daughter home.

  Please donate. Every rupee matters.

Sai Sparsh Children's Hospital