A group of 15 children from Kashmir were treated for Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) at a hospital in Gurugram recently.

One of the children was four-year-old Adeeba Farooq, who suffered from high fever and bouts of coughing that left her weak and breathless. The CHD was diagnosed when a local doctor advised her to undergo some tests. Her father, a daily wage labourer, could not afford the expensive surgery required to cure her.

Adeeba was taken to a health camp, where the Rotary Club of Delhi East End, Have A Heart Foundation and Fortis Foundation decided to support her surgery. A Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) closure operation was conducted by Dr. Vijay Agarwal at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), Gurugram.

Adeeba has recovered completely now.

CHD can be defined as a structural or functional abnormality in the heart.