Damodar turns Good Samaritan, ensures free treatment to 8-yr-old

Hyderabad: Health Minister C Damodar Raja Narsimha came to the rescue of a child Aishwarya suffering from a serious heart disease by ensuring the treatment is provided free of cost at NIMS Hospital.

The parents of the child Aishwarya Chandrakanth from Karnataka live in Malakpet area of Hyderabad and work in a hotel there. Since Chandrakanth’s 8-year-old child Aishwarya often fell ill, she was taken to a local private hospital.

The doctors there said that the child has a heart condition of Atrial Septal defect and that the child’s life would be in danger if the operation was not performed. They said that the operation would cost at least Rs 5 lakh. This left the Chandrakanth couple devastated. Being a family from Karnataka, they do not have an Aarogyasri card or ration card.

The Aadhaar card was also from Karnataka. In this context, the affected family met Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha and informed him about the baby’s condition. Moved by this, the minister ensured baby Aishwarya was admitted in NIMS. He ordered that the necessary operation be performed immediately and that full treatment be provided free of cost. On the minister’s orders, NIMS Director Dr N Beerappa made the necessary arrangements for the baby’s operation. On June 4, a team of doctors led by cardiologists Gopal and Praveen successfully operated on the baby. The baby was discharged after a complete recovery.

Chandrakant and his wife came with the baby and met Minister Raja Narsimha at the Secretariat on Thursday to express their gratitude. They were emotional, saying that God had saved the baby’s life. The Minister, who reassured them on this occasion, greeted the baby affectionately. He advised the parents to take care of her.