Wockhardt Hospitals Blog

14th November,2009 was a special day for Wockhardt Hospitals,Bangalore.Apart from being Children s Day .. the day also celebrated as the day when Children from all over the city assembled at the hospital to say a big Cheers to Life. These Children were all at some point of their lives threatened by life threating congenital disorders,who managed to overcome their medical problems with a little help from the Hospital.

More than 50 children aged between 3 and 13 who had undergone cardiac surgery at Wockhardt Hospitals were treated to a variety of fun filled activities on the occasion of Children’s Day. Dr Devananda, Pediatric, Cardiac Surgeon Wockhardt Hospitals, who took part in the celebrations spoke on the prevalence of Congenital Heart Disease in India vis-à-vis the developed countries and stressed the need to create awareness among people that the Congenital Heart Disease is curable.

“Congenital Heart disease in a child is not the end of the world. This is a treatable condition with excellent success rate, the children present here today of all ages are a testament to this fact.” Dr Devananda, Pediatric, Cardiac Surgeon Wockhardt Hospitals

“Today, India has the expertise and the knowledge to treat this condition, however there are two major obstacles we need to overcome that is that lack of awareness of the disease and the non availability of finance as insurance companies in India do not cover pre-existing diseases” he added.

Magic shows, caricature, face-painting, interactive games and competitions enthralled the children who were eager to participate, adding to the happiness and joy of this special occasion.

But these were not your regular kids. All of them had suffered from life-threatening heart problems , at some point or the other and had gone through complicated surgeries at the Bannerghata Road,hospital at Bangalore.

"It was great to see these children doing so well and enjoying themselves at Children's Day. Seeing them so happy, no one would have guessed that they were suffering from fatal heart problem at one time," said Dr Devananda, pediatric cardiac surgeon.

The "reunion" party was as emotional for the families as it was for the doctors. And in between the celebrations, the parents recalled those difficult times when they were scared about their children safety.

Deepak Singh, father of Vikram Singh, who had a serious heart disease, said, "We had to take him to the hospital daily for checkups and after a lots of tests, we got to know that he had a hole in his heart. Those were the most difficult times of our life. But now that he is healthy, I have no words to explain how happy we feel."

A magic show, dance programmes and many other interactive sessions made the day special for the children. The enthusiasm of the kids soon inspired the adults too as many of them joined the little ones in the buoyant celebrations and some even shook a leg.

"Apart from the fun that we had, this event was a great platform to spread awareness about heart ailments. Also, families, which had gone through similar trauma, were brought together and the sharing of their knowledge and experiences, made the event a memorable one," said Dr Devananda.

He went on to add, "India, today, has the expertise and the knowledge to treat heart ailments, but we face two major obstacles. One is the lack of awareness and second is the non-availability of finance as insurance companies in India do not cover pre-existing diseases. We need to look into these issues now."