One day, on my birthday, I casually asked my father about the day I was born. To my surprise, he shared a story that I hadn’t heard before. He told me that my mother cried a lot that day. Curious, I asked why. My father explained that she was upset because her family didn’t believe in celebrating the birth of a girl. They thought girls weren’t as valued as boys. But my father, always the loving support, reassured her that having a daughter, like me, was a blessing—a “Laxmi” to their home.
I was that girl—born with a condition called Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), a hole in the heart that affects only 1 in 1,000 children. VSD is a congenital heart defect where there is an abnormal opening between the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles), which can cause oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood to mix. This can lead to a variety of health issues, including poor growth, frequent respiratory infections, and heart failure if left untreated.
When my father consulted the doctors, they told him that I was fragile, like glass. If not taken care of properly, I could be lost. My father was terrified. I could see that he wasn’t prepared for the emotional weight of such news and feared he would panic. But in that moment, my mother stepped in with calm and strength, assuring my father that everything would be okay, that they would take care of me no matter what.
Despite the financial challenges they faced, my parents made every sacrifice for my well-being. For the first few years of my life, I lived on medication, with hospital visits becoming a regular part of my routine until I underwent my VSD closure surgery at the age of seven.
But this journey wasn’t without more challenges. Even after the surgery, my health remained fragile, and life threw more tests my way. The love and support of my parents kept me going, even in the toughest times. I’ll share more about the next chapter of my journey, including the challenges I faced as I grew older and how I overcame them, in my next blog post.
Stay tuned!