Six months have passed since Syed Saadat Ali and his wife returned from India after a successful open-heart surgery of their son, Syed Raahim, who will soon be celebrating his first birthday.

As the critical phase of Raahim’s recovery is over, the couple – who had earlier been avoiding the media – believe that they are in a better position to discuss their case now.

Ali and his wife, Nadia, travelled to India in December last year, a month after the Mumbai attack soured relations between India and Pakistan. However, that did not deter the couple from visiting the country, especially after they received a positive response from Dr Rajesh Sharma of Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi, who was willing to offer his services to them.

Raahim had been suffering from a rare congenital heart disorder that obstructed blood flow to the infant’s heart, making it difficult for him to breathe. Due to the lack of the required surgery facilities in Pakistan, the couple decided to go to India, but said that they were disappointed that this suggestion came from a friend, and not from local doctors who were handling Raahim’s case.

“Raahim suffered from shortness of breath since the day he was born and had the ‘Blue Baby’ syndrome in which his skin would turn bluish or purplish due to lack of oxygen, but even doctors at one of the most leading hospitals of the city could not understand what was wrong,” said Ali, during an interview with The News at his residence in Nazimabad.

According to doctors, about one out of every 1,000 live-born babies is born with a congenital heart defect in which the major blood vessels of the heart either do not function properly or are not formed during the early stages of fetal development. “In Raahim’s case, his vessels had not been formed,” informed Nadia.

“We were asked to take one test after the other along with an ECG, but none of the doctors here could understand what the complication was and were hesitant to operate. We also took his reports to the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), where doctors agreed to perform a surgery but failed to satisfy us when we asked about its success rate.”

Ali then sought a second opinion from a doctor in India, as suggested by his close friend and within a day received a response from a doctor at one of the leading cardiac hospitals in India. Despite the talk of war and blame game between the governments of Pakistan and India, they decided to fly and save Raahim before it was too late. Unlike a regular visitor, Saadat and Nadia Ali were soon issued a visa on medical grounds.

“Our governments may have their differences, but once we stepped into India and interacted with the common man, each one of them welcomed us with open arms,” recalled Nadia. In fact, not only did they open their doors for us, but also their pockets to save Raahim’s life, added the father. The cost of the total surgery amounted upto Rs0.65 million, most of which was borne by the hospital trust. “This financial exemption came as a surprise because we could not afford it. For a while, we had lost hope.”

During their month-long stay in the country and frequent visits to the hospital, Nadia said that she was most touched by the support and respect they got in their times of adversity. “From the staff to the common visitor at the hospital, everyone gave us special treatment because we were from Pakistan. This just tells you how political or religious differences never trickle down to the common man, no matter how hard the government or media in both the countries try. Like us, we want more families in Pakistan to benefit from the medical community across the border”, the couple said.

Copyright 2009 The News.