Barely five months after she underwent a heart transplant, Sweden D’Souza, 16, is all set to resume college on Wednesday.
Sweden was in Class XI when she had suddenly started complaining of chest pain and breathlessness and was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. She was waitlisted for a heart and in January this year had a transplant when a cadaver heart donation was made in Indore. A team of doctors from Fortis Hospital, Mulund, had harvested the heart, airlifted it to Mumbai and transplanted it into Sweden. Her progress was encouraging and she was discharged within a fortnight of undergoing the transplant.
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“She has recovered very well. We have been following the treatment regimen very well. Now her medication too has reduced from eight tablets a day to just four tablets,” said Anthony D’Souza, Sweden’s father, who set up an air-conditioned sanitised glass cabin at their Vikhroli residence to keep her insulated. Her contact with people was also kept minimal, with only her mother entering the room with her food and medications.
Even Sweden’s college, St Xavier’s High School and College in Kanjurmarg, made an effort to ensure the child didn’t miss a year. “We had submitted the doctor’s letter to the college about her condition and requested that she should be allowed to appear for the Class XI exam from home, to which the college agreed. She was given the question paper and a teacher would sit outside while she wrote the answers,” said Mr. D’Souza. Sweden passed the exam and was promoted to Class XII.
Sweden stepped out of her home once on May 22, when the family took her out for a picnic.
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