Heart of Telangana man beats for an Andhra mother. This is no teenage love story but a heart-warming episode that spreads love and warmth between two States that have been divided not just geographically but also emotionally on various issues.
The young mother of a three-year old son, Aruna had almost lost hope with the deteriorating heart but now is all smiles with a great life ahead to spend, particularly with her son, Karthik who doesn’t even understand it. “It is a rebirth and now I understand the value of life much better,” says Aruna, a native of Kakinada presently residing in Pune. “Thanks, too small a word to express my feelings to the donor family,” she said.
She got a new lease of life thanks to the heart donated by the family of a 47-year-old from Hyderabad who died in an accident. Doctors at Yashoda Hospital in Secunderabad, who were nursing her for a few months, transplanted the heart. The over nine hour complex surgery was no less than a baby who takes birth after spending nine months in a mother’s womb.
Senior Cardio-Thoracic, Heart and Lung Transplant Surgeons at Yashoda, Dr. P.V. Naresh Kumar and Dr. C. Arumugam said Aruna was brought with just 15 per cent Ejection Fraction (Heart pumping capacity). As she was fighting with end stage heart failure disease, the doctors continued their treatment with anti-heart failure medication and also prepared for heart transplant waiting for a donor heart.
That’s when the Jeevandan Foundation informed them of a donor heart of an accident victim. The doctors counselled the family and took for surgery on the same day on June 15. “After the operation, Aruna was made stable within a few days and discharged in a healthy condition after two weeks with a fully functional heart with EF 64 per cent. She is happily spending time with her family now,” said the doctors.
Dr. G. S. Rao, Managing Director of Yashoda Hospitals said she was suffering with Dilated Cardio Myopathy (DCM). The disease starts in the left ventricle and the heart muscle begins to dilate and becomes thinner. Dr. Naresh said that it can happen during pregnancy and up to five months after delivery and it is relatively common in Asian and African countries. The general signs are fatigue, shortness of breath, swelling of ankles, feet, legs and abdomen.
