MUMBAI: Last December, fate dealt a cruel blow to a doctor couple from Amravati . Not only did they lose their four-month-old daughter Meera in an accident, they also couldn't donate her organs despite their best efforts. Eight months later, in an inspiring and heart-warming gesture, the couple, Umesh Sawarkar and Ashwini , funded heart surgeries of two children on August 21, on what would have been their daughter's first birthday.Thanks to Meera's parents, two children from Wagholi and Deogaon villages of Amravati can dream of having a normal life. Both four-and-half-year-old Payal Parate and five-year-old Aswashil Dhawale were detected with a hole in their hearts.Four-and-a-half-year-old Payal Parate and five-year-old Aswashil Dhawale were detected with a hole in their hearts. Despite the congenital defects compromising their everyday lives, the children couldn’t immediately undergo the surgery for want of funds.“Meera’s organs would have given new lives to children, but that was neither in our destiny nor in our hands. Even as we recovered from her loss, we didn’t want to lose hope. That’s how we decided to help children who wait endlessly to undergo corrective surgeries,” said the father.Dr Umesh, who is a gynaecologist, and his pathologist wife Ashwini started scouting for hospitals over the past three months, looking for children in dire need of financial aid.Their quest took them to Amravati-based Shri Sant Acchyut Maharaj Heart Hospital (SSAMHH), where the social workers pointed them to Payal and Aswashil’s case files. While Aswashil was recently diagnosed in a private centre, Payal had been waiting for nearly a year to undergo the surgery as the government approval had not come.“Cases like Payal’s are particularly heart-rending. Often it’s not just funds but social factors that deprive girls of timely care,” said one of the social workers of SSAMHH. The child is the third girl in the family. Her father, who is a daily wage worker, allegedly didn’t show great urgency or interest in seeking treatment. Her condition was diagnosed after an anganwadi worker pointed out to the possibility of a larger health problem behind her recurrent infections and lack of a proper body. Asubsequent 2D echo evaluation at a private centre detected the heart condition.The doctor couple had to arrange for transportation for Payal’s family to bring her to the hospital on the day of surgery. “Post-surgery, the father has expressed joy at his daughter being treated on time. He was not being covered by any government scheme,” said Dr Umesh.Aswashil’s ailment was detected in a similar manner. He, too, suffered recurrent urinary infections, appeared tired in school and underperformed in his studies. However, in his case, the state’s approval had come at the last moment. The doctor said they would use the money allocated for him for some other child who is in need of surgery.The doctor couple intends to continue to follow up on the progress of the health of the two children. They also kept tabs on the goings-on of the accident case which caused the tragedy last year. The driver of the other vehicle which caused the accident was granted bail after nearly 45 days, said the doctor couple.Dr Ashwini and Umesh said helping the children brought them some “closure”. “Our lives are limping back to normalcy. Ashwini resumed work only four months ago,” Umesh said, adding that the incident has made the couple more supportive of each other. “Nothing can fill the vacuum created by Meera’s death, but the smiles on the faces of these children can help us cope with the pain,” said Ashwini.Read this story in Bengali