A four-month-old baby started her journey back home to Madanapalli, Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh on Friday afternoon after undergoing a cardiac surgery at the Institute of Child Health (ICH) and Hospital for Children, Egmore. In a special gesture, doctors of ICH and officials of the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project (TNHSP) arranged her travel in the neonatal ambulance of the 108 ambulance network.

Almost a month ago, Reddemma and her husband Ramanjaneyulu, a daily wage labourer, rushed their second child Swapna to ICH with complaints of fast breathing for five days. According to doctors, the child was received in the emergency room with high respiratory rate and respiratory failure. She was intubated and put on medications.

She was diagnosed with large Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), multiple Ventricular Septal Defects and moderate Atrial Septal Defect, S. Srinivasan, State Nodal Officer-Child Health, said.

Three defects

“The baby had a combination of three cardiac defects and pulmonary arterial hypertension. We stabilised her, and performed one surgery for PDA ligation at the hospital. Post-surgery, the baby was doing well. When we decided to discharge the child, we were wondering on how to send her and her family back home due to the lockdown. So, we requested TNHSP to provide an ambulance for their transportation back home, and they granted immediate permission,” he said.

The family, in fact, resided on the hospital premises for a month. “We arranged for food to be provided for the baby’s mother and grandmother,” he added.

Special permission

Officials of the 108 ambulance network said dispatching ambulances for transportation outside the State borders required special permission from the government. “We arranged for the neonatal ambulance for the baby and her family with special permission from the government. The ambulance is covering a distance of nearly 200 kilometres to take them to their home in Andhra Pradesh. We have obtained such special approvals during the Moulivakkam building collapse and Vardah cyclone. This is one such instance where we got approval for the baby,” an official said.

Dr. Srinivasan added that the cardiothoracic surgeons have advised the parents to come for follow-up. “The baby weighs 3.7 kg. She has to gain weight now,” he said.

The baby’s mother Ms. Reddemma said that initially they sought medical help at a private hospital in Madanapalli. “We were referred to the government hospital at Tirupati. Doctors said the baby required surgery and told us to go to Chennai. We did not know anybody here and so, we stayed at the hospital for a month,” she said.

The family is happy with the treatment their daughter received at ICH. “We will come back for follow-up later,” she added, heading home.