Ranchi: Other illnesses get neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic and chronically ill ones are having a tough time now. Surgeries get delayed and casualties are getting worse.
Three-month-old Abhayas had to fight a tough battle to breath normal being an infant. The infant was born with a rare disorder, Biliary Atresia, due to which his liver malfunctions in producing bile juice, requisite for digestion. The disease is reported among 15 per thousand infants. Unless immediately intervened there is no certainty over life.
Abhayas's parents, Samyukta and Abhishek, were in deep despair as treatment was uncertain during this time. He developed jaundice immediately after birth followed by subsequent fever. Surgeries were halted in hospitals in Lucknow due to COVID-19 and later Care hospital in Hyderabad asked them to come for treatment immediately.
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Samyukta and Abhishek fought the odds during the journey from Ranchi to Hyderabad, which prolonged to 48 hours instead of 24 hours in a car. After testing negative for COVID-19, doctors selected Samyukta as the liver donor. With the help of Care hospital, the parents tried for crowdfunding to arrange money for the surgery.
The parents leapt on faith even though the doctors told them that the success rate is only 75%. Abhayas was very weak and weighed just five kilos before the surgery. Due to his small size, the doctors transplanted only one and a half portion of the liver, instead of two. The pristine dexterity of Dr Mohd Abdun Nayeem in the jump graft technique saved Abhyas. The technique is used rarely, only in critical condition, as Abhyas arteries in the liver were not fully developed.
Also read: Jammu and Kashmir witnesses decline in infant mortality rate
