“Aai(mother), she shouted while playing outside and we saw our little girl lying on the ground unconscious. We thought it might have happened normally. But her blackouts became a frequent nightmare. Her health started to deteriorate. Her nails started to turn blue. She gasped for breath every single time when she ran towards us. We took her to the nearby hospital for checkup only to find that our fear turned into a reality. She had a hole in her heart. Pain is still a normal word for a mother who sees her daughter daily in such a terrible condition fighting for her life. She was full of life and gave us all the happiness when she was born but now she is constantly in bed, surviving on medicines, fighting the pain all by herself.”

- Varsha; mother of 2-year-old Pallavi

Pallavi is a 2-year-old baby girl who is suffering from Congenital Heart Disease. Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are problems with the structure of the heart. “Congenital” means that the problems are present at birth. These defects happen when a baby’s heart doesn’t develop normally during pregnancy. Congenital heart defects can change the way the heart pumps blood. They may make blood flow too slowly, go the wrong way, or block it completely. Congenital heart defects can range from very mild problems that never need treatment to life-threatening problems at birth.

Mr. Bajrang and Mrs. Varsha are the parents of 2 year old Pallavi. The family consists of 7 members. Pallavi’s grandparents are still suffering from heart problems.

The parents didn’t know the health condition of the baby during birth. They got to know it once they did 2D Echocardiography from a Hospital in Pandharpur, Maharashtra last year when her health started deteriorating. Bajrang works as a daily wage laborer and Varsha is a homemaker. The family of 7 is supported by the income from Bajrang and