The Hindu : Noor likely to be discharged on Thursday

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 28, 2003

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Noor likely to be discharged on Thursday

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE July 27. Noor Fatima is now just like any other two-and-a-half year old. Almost fully recovered from open-heart surgery on July 15 at the Narayana Hrudayalaya, the Pakistani girl now "plays with her parents and walks in her room,'' the hospital authorities said on Sunday.

She is ready to walk out of the hospital, though her discharge is only slated for Wednesday or Thursday. At present, she is with her parents, Nadeem Sajjad and Tayyaba Nadeem, in the general ward of the hospital.

While the little Pakistani girl prepares to leave a country that has taken her to its heart, her fellow Pakistani, Junaid Khalid, remains very ill.

Rajesh Sharma, paediatric cardiac surgeon who operated on Noor, will also treat Junaid. He told The Hindu that the boy's case was complicated. The eight-year-old crossed the border aboard the Lahore-New Delhi bus some days ago to come to Bangalore.

Dr. Sharma said he would decide on the operation (on Junaid) in a day or two. "The boy has a single hole in the heart and a double outlet in the right ventricle." Lack of oxygenated blood flowing in his body has made him "blue" and his condition is likely to improve once he undergoes surgery.

Meanwhile, the little heart patient from Bangalore, four-year-old Arbaaz, will be admitted to the hospital on Monday. He has a ventricular septal defect (the condition that Noor had), and according to Tazaiyun Oomer from Humane Touch Trust, the NGO that took up his case, he will be operated upon some time this week.

When Dr. Sharma saw him first, the child had a severe chest infection. He said further treatment could be carried out after the boy became better.

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