Bangalore’s Dr Sharma waits for young Noor

A city-based paediatric heart surgeon awaits his two-and-a-half-year-old patient from across the border whose name he can’t immediately...

A city-based paediatric heart surgeon awaits his two-and-a-half-year-old patient from across the border whose name he can’t immediately recall. Dr Rajesh Sharma, who claims to have operated upon 50-60 Pakistani children in the past 5-6 years, knows his little ward more by the multiple holes in her heart.

‘‘She is special, all my patients are special to me,’’ says Sharma of Narayana Hrudalaya. And even as this child travels across borders on a wave of renewed goodwill, she will need a lot of luck and wishes.

‘‘The child is suffering from ventricular septal defect with pulmonary stenosis, or holes in the heart, with obstruction of blood flow to lungs, it is complicated,’’ says Sharma, who has been corresponding with the child’s father, Nadeem Sajjad, in Pakistan.

Story continues below this ad

Right now there is a Pakistani child recuperating in Narayana Hrudalya. ‘‘This kind of surgery on children is not developed in Pakistan, so they come here or go to West, which is a more expensive option,’’ says Sharma.

These children are generally brought to AIIMS, Delhi; Apollo Hospital, Chennai; Narayana Hrudalaya; and Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Kochi.

The surgery will keep the child in hospital for 10 days and it is expected to take another month for her to fully recover.

While aboard INS Vikrant, the Prime Minister had a packed schedule of engagements, officials said.

PM Modi celebrates Diwali aboard INS Vikrant with Navy personnel off Goa coast

India8 min ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will celebrate Diwali with the Indian Navy off the coast of Goa, continuing his tradition of spending the festival with the armed forces. Since taking office in 2014, Modi has celebrated Diwali with soldiers in various locations, including the Siachen glacier and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS