Raifa K., 2

The two-year-old girl lives with her parents, two school-going elder brothers, and elderly grandmother, and despite her young age, she has been struggling with breathing difficulties and recurrent respiratory infections for about a year. Her father works as a carpenter, earning approximately BDT 11,000 (USD 90) per month, while her mother is a homemaker; supporting five family members on this limited income makes it extremely difficult to afford the costly heart surgery she needs. Since birth, the child has experienced poor growth, and examinations at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital revealed a ventricular septal defect (VSD) and a secundum atrial septal defect (ASD), both involving abnormal openings in the heart. The family learned about Helpster Charity through a volunteer and Deputy Director Dr. Mejbah and urgently needs financial assistance for hospitalization and intracardiac repair surgery. Without timely treatment, her heart condition could lead to worsening breathing difficulties, recurrent lung infections, poor growth, and potentially life-threatening complications.

According to the treating doctors, hospitalization, medical optimization, and intracardiac repair surgery are recommended to manage the child's congenital heart defect. Surgical repair aims to correct the structural abnormality, improve blood circulation, and reduce breathlessness and recurrent respiratory tract infections, supporting better growth and quality of life. Without appropriate treatment, the child may continue to experience breathing difficulties, repeated infections, and poor growth, with an increased risk of serious cardiac and pulmonary complications. Timely specialist care is essential to improve the child's long-term health outcomes.