Congenital Heart Disease - Operated - Thanks to AROGYASRI

The Andhra Pradesh Government had recently launched the Arogyasri programme in which, the poor get access to high end medical care which otherwise would not have been accessible to them because of the costs involved.
Mallika, was diagnosed in the health centre to have a Congenital Heart Disease - most likely a Patent Ductus Arteriosus in early February this year. She was referred to SVIMS, Tirupati, under this schme. The the ECHO Cardiography confirmed the diagnosis and by the 20th of Feb she was operated and discharged by the end of the month - ALL DONE FREE OF CHARGE.
Mallika is now doing well and is quite health post operatively.
Such programmes, if they function well can do a lot of good for the poor,who are as it is hamstrung by the lackof financial resources. May the Arogyasri continue doing good work.

Venkataramana - A Wizened baby

A three month old baby, one of the surviving twins.
The birth weight of both the twins was 2.0 kg (4.4 lbs).
The elder twin was a girl and so the mother did not give her breast milk, leaving the baby to depend on cow's milk. Being born small, the girl had no chance and died within a month of birth.
The younger being a male had the "privilege" of mother's milk. Now, in spite of being three months of age, this one is also struggling for life. Weight at present is 2.1 kg, a scant 100 gms more than his birth weight. The baby also had cough and respiratory distress. The X Ray showed a patch in the left lung suspicious of a Bronchopneumonia. Also worrying us is the fact that the baby has not put on any weight since birth.
It may be maternal malnutrition or more likely that the mother has Tuberculosis (the mother has cough with sputum production for a month now) which has been passed onto the baby.
The baby has been admitted at St Johns Medical College, Bangalore.
Watch this space for updates