Nandhini

Her eyes try hard to mask the mischief bubbling inside but her smile gives the game away. Meet Nandhini, seven-year-old proud ‘class leader’. If you meet her on the street, you are bound to catch her twinkling eye. You would never guess she’s just had an open-heart surgery. In fact, her family was not even aware Nandhini had a congenital heart problem as there were no obvious symptoms. At a routine health camp in her school last year, the doctor told her aunt who raises Nandhini that she must take the girl to a cardiologist. The family did not take him seriously but when the advice was repeated this year at another health camp, they finally took the girl to a cardiologist, who diagnosed the defect in her heart and recommended immediate surgery. 

Nandhini’s parents live in Mumbai where her father works as a daily wage labourer. The girl lives with her mother’s sister in RR Kuppam, a village in Ulundurpet in Tamil Nadu. Since Nandhini’s parents did not live in Tamil Nadu, they were not eligible for the state government’s health insurance scheme for the poor. 

The private hospital which took up Nandhini’s case approached Hope Unlimited which shared the costs of the surgery with another foundation. Nandhini’s paediatric doctor explained why the surgery was needed: the ventricular septal defect was close to the aortic valve creating a jet effect and causing it to leak. Closing the defect now meant preventing the aortic valve from becoming insufficient and allowing Nandhini to lead a healthy life. 

Nandhini’s aunt says that her niece is the most boisterous though as class leader she is expected to maintain discipline in the class! She is her teacher’s favourite though. “My teacher said she would pray that my surgery goes well so I could return to school soon,” says Nandhini, who wants to become a police officer. 

(March 2019)