In 2012, Ayesha Rashid bin dey seven years old wen her parents receive di devastating news say she get congenital heart disease.
Ayesha health dey poor – she get difficulties in breathing, talking and walking.
She get cardiomyopathy, one condition wey make am difficult for di heart to pump blood.
“25% of her heart dey damaged,” her mother Sanober Rashid recall, “and den she get much worse.”
Ayesha condition set di family off on journey of hope and determination, wey take dem beyond di borders of Pakistan to India.
Di two kontri be arch-rivals since di division of di sub-continent in 1947 – di hatred between di two dey rooted in religion and history.
Now 19, di teenager don recently undergo one successful heart transplant in Chennai – afta describing wetin she bin don suffer as “long struggle”.
Far from dia home in Karachi, di Rashids tok to di BBC from di Chennai hospital wey don help give dia daughter new lease of life, di Institute of Heart Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support of MGM Healthcare.
Searching for treatment
Afta Ayesha first dey diagnosed, di Rashids spend some years to search for quality cardiac care for Pakistan.
“Our doctors tok say her heart main pumping chamber dey dilated, and Ayesha need surgery”, Mrs Rashid tok. “Dem tell us to take her to India or Canada for better treatment.”
Afta extensive research, dem discover her best chance at getting help na for Chennai, leading destination for heart transplants for India. Di city, wey be di capital of di state of Tamil Nadu, get active organ donation programme.
Getting visas to travel to India dey difficult, and dem reject am first. Indians and Pakistanis find am extremely difficult to travel to each oda kontris becos of tough visa restrictions.
During dis time, Ayesha health dey worse.
For 2019, di second, emergency visa application dey accepted, and di family finally embark on dia first trip to Chennai to meet senior cardiologist Dr K R Balakrishnan.
Na di director of MGM Healthcare and considered one of di best for im field in di kontri.
Cardiac arrest
But tins take turn for di worse as soon as Ayesha and her mama arrive for Chennai.
“Ayesha suffer heart attack, wey don leave her teetering on di brink between life and death,” Mrs Rashid tok.
She tok say Ayesha heart dey work at capacity of 10%.
“Wen she first come to us, her heart stopp, and we don revive her,” Dr Balakrishnan tok.
Di medical team den initially fit Ayesha wit temporary heart pump, and later witadvanced LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device).
She den return to Karachi, looking forward to long recovery. But her fragile state leave am vulnerable to infection.
Worsening condition
Dr Balakrishnan, wey bin dey in touch wit Ayesha physicians, recall: “Facility no dey for Pakistan to monitor di device. For two years, she dey very sick wit infections, getting hospitalised repeatedly. She dey unconscious half di time.”
Ayesha doctors tok say na only heart transplant go fit save am now.
Desperate for help, Mrs Rashid make serious calls to Chennai evri day.
“Dem dey do heart surgeries for Pakistan, but no be heart transplants,” Mrs Rashid tok.
“Also, we no fit even afford di procedure.”
One heart transplant fit cost up to $42,000 for India.
“I call up di doctors for Chennai and I tok say I no get enough money for di surgery. Dem just say: ‘Come ova, we go take care of am,’” she tok wit smile.
And den afta10 months of waiting for heart donor, di family finally receive some positive news. Heart from 62-year-old donor for Delhi dey available for Ayesha.
Na moment of “pure joy and relief” for di family, dem tok.
‘Di most exciting minute’
Heart transplant surgery involve di removal of di disease heart, replacing am wit di donor heart.
E fit last between four and six hours.
Meanwhile, patients dey attach to heart-lung bypass machine, wey take ova di function of di heart and lungs and deliver oxygen to di body.
According to India organ transplant policy, dem fit only transplant organ into international patient if e no go affect Indian patient.
For Ayesha case, di donor heart no be di ideal match, but still welcome.
“We take di heart, despite di mismatch in age and size,” Dr Balakrishnan tok, “becos dis na her only chance to survive.”
Heart transplants na di the most time-critical of all transplant operations.
Afta two hours dem comot am from di donor, di risk of di transplant failing start to increase for di di pesin wey collect am.
“But e take almost five hours for di heart to reach di hospital. So, we no dey sure if e go still work,” MGM Healthcare co-director Dr Suresh Rao tok.
But e say e soon become “di most exciting minute” as e witness di first beat of Ayesha new heart.
Hopes for di future
Currently, Ayesha dey spend her recovery phase for MGM Healthcare.
She wear mandatory cloth mask for protection as she sidon quietly beside her mother.
Despite everione fear, her body not fit reject di new heart.
“E feel good, very nice afta di surgery,” she tok whispering as her recent surgery prevent her from talking loudly.
“I fit walk nicely now. Bifor di surgery, I no fit walk or even breathe like I fit now.”
Di teenager go return home to Karachi in two months and she dey excited about her future.
“I wan start studying. I wan be fashion designer,” she tok.
She dey grateful to di Indian goment for facilitating her treatment.
“I see no difference between Pakistan and India. Na all di same ova here and there. I no dey feel like say I dey different nation,” she tok.
Her surgery dey possible by charity for India, wey dem dey call Aishwarya, na one mama wey lose her own daughter to heart failure start am.
Dr Balakrishnan tok say di medical team face medical, billing and social challenges while organising di operation to save Ayesha.
Comments dey ontop Indian social media platforms, protesting against di medical treatment of Pakistani citizen.
“E no dey easy, base on di realities of our kontris. e dey stressful. But we do wetin dey right,” Dr Balakrishnan tok.
“Wen patient come to us, we no dey see dia kontri – we dey see dem as human being wey we fit treat.”
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