Hemalatha

“She was devastated when the 10th grade results came out. She got high marks in social sciences but her overall score was lower than what she had hoped for,” says Hemalatha’s mother. There was a reason though why the bright student couldn’t get high grades: she had severe joint pain and could barely hold the pen to write her exams. Even preparing for the exams was an ordeal as the girl complained of fatigue all the time and had chest pain and dizziness. Her parents hadn’t realized that Hemalatha’s implanted pulmonary conduit (tube) had worn out and was not functioning. The 15-year-old had, in fact, been born with the pulmonary valve absent which meant enough blood couldn’t flow to her lungs to get oxygen. In addition, she had a ventricular septal defect (VSD), which is a hole between the left and right ventricles of the heart. When the two conditions are together present in a newborn, doctors consider it a critical congenital heart defect. 

When she was just 18 months old, Hemalatha had her first open heart surgery where the hole was closed and a conduit inserted to create a pathway from the heart to the lungs. However, the implant wears out over time or loses efficiency and replacing the worn-out implant is an expensive surgery. 

When the teenager started having frequent chest pains, doctors advised immediate surgery. Hemalatha’s parents, who live in Pondicherry, had little means; the father works as a helper with an events catering company, seasonal work that fetched less than INR 6000 a month when he had work. With some help from the Pondicherry Chief Minister’s fund and support from Hope Unlimited, Hemalatha underwent surgery to replace her pulmonary homograft conduit. 

The complex surgery took over six hours but Hemalatha is now out of intensive care and is recovering well. Though still very weak, the girl is keen to leave the hospital and go back home. “She likes going to school, playing badminton and chess, and she knows typing,” says Vijayasaraswathi, her proud mother. I ask the girl if she wants to finish school and pat comes the reply: “Yes, of course. I want to become a computer science engineer.” And then she pauses and adds: “I would also like to help other children who are born with heart defects.” 

(August 2019)