Kolhapur, Maharashtra

The following is the confirmed medical status as documented by Sai Sparsh Children's Hospital, Kolhapur, dated 17/08/2026:

Patient : Baby of Shivani Ashitosh Varute — Twin II (Male)

Age at Last Update : 10 Days

Birth Weight : 1.2 kg (Very Low Birth Weight — VLBW)

Gestational Age at Birth : 32 weeks (8 weeks premature)

Date of Admission : 11/08/2026

Hospital : Sai Sparsh Children's Hospital, Kolhapur

Expected NICU Duration : 6 weeks

Confirmed Diagnoses

• Prematurity (32 weeks) with Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW — 1.2 kg) — born 8 weeks too early with multiple organ systems incomplete

• Respiratory Distress — lungs unable to sustain adequate independent breathing; requires respiratory support in the NICU

• Feed Intolerance — the gut is too immature to absorb nutrition normally; the baby cannot tolerate oral or tube feeds and requires careful nutritional management

• Severe Neonatal Jaundice (Hyperbilirubinemia) — Total Bilirubin peaked at 11.7 mg/dL on Day 4 (normal: below 1.1 mg/dL); caused by the immature liver's inability to process bilirubin from red blood cell breakdown; at these levels, untreated jaundice can cause permanent brain damage

• Leucopenia with Lymphocytosis — reduced white blood cell count indicating immune stress and vulnerability to infection

Current Treatment Requirements

• Respiratory support — assisting breathing as the lungs are not yet strong enough to work independently

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

• Parenteral and carefully managed enteral nutrition — nutrients delivered to support growth while the gut matures and feed tolerance is gradually established

• IV antibiotics and infection surveillance — to protect an immune system with almost no natural defences

• Incubator-based temperature regulation — the baby cannot regulate his own body temperature

• Daily blood monitoring — bilirubin, CBC, CRP, electrolytes tracked continuously to catch any deterioration early

Estimated Cost of Treatment

NICU Treatment (6 weeks) : ₹1,50,000 – ₹2,00,000

Medicines : ₹70,000

Total Estimated Cost : ₹2,20,000 – ₹2,70,000

Why This Is Critical

A bilirubin of 11.7 mg/dL in a neonate is not just elevated — it is in the range where, without sustained phototherapy, it can cross into the brain and cause kernicterus, a form of permanent brain damage that affects movement, hearing, and cognitive development. The medical team is actively managing this with round-the-clock phototherapy and monitoring.

Combined with respiratory distress and feed intolerance, this baby's body is fighting on three fronts simultaneously — breathing, nutrition, and bilirubin — at a weight and gestational age where every system is still fragile. Six weeks of uninterrupted NICU care are what stand between him and the chance to go home.

He is 10 days old. He weighs 1.2 kg. Six weeks of care stand between him and home.

Please help Shivani and Ashitosh bring their baby home.

Sai Sparsh Children's Hospital