Gujarat: 640-gram baby survives after doctors crowdfund treatment

AHMEDABAD: On March 2, just when Covid-19 had started unleashing death and doom, a gardener's wife gave birth to a baby boy weighing a mere 640 gram. Having undergone three miscarriages, parents desperately wanted to save the baby but broke down saying they had no means to afford the advance treatment the preemie would need for a chance at life. That's when the crowd stepped in.
Thirty-three direct donors and 158 people made online donations on a heartfelt crowdfunding plea to help save gardener Bholu Kori and his home-maker wife Durga's baby on a social media platform.
More than four months later on July 14, baby Arjun was discharged weighing a reasonably healthy 1.875 kg. He is frail but is strong enough to fight for his own survival. In all, the strangers footed the Rs 14 lakh bill of the baby even when most people were penny-pinching during the financial crisis triggered by Covid.
"Durga went into premature delivery and Arjun was born weighing mere 640g with breathing difficulty, infections, aspiration of feeds and a congenital heart problem among other complications. But looking at the desperation for parents for a child, we decided to crowdfund the costs and also pitch in with our own contributions," said Dr Bhavik Shah of a city hospital.
When little Arjun was finally discharged on Tuesday evening, it was an emotional moment, as all the hospital staff gave a memorable send-off to the beaming parents and the child.
Consulting neonatologist Dr Rakesh Sharma said of the Rs 14 lakh, 8.75 lakh was raised through crowdfunding effort in form of a Facebook page 'Arjun Medical Fundraising'. The remainder was donated by doctors and their acquaintances. The parents were not charged a single penny.