Meet Mythili
Coimbatore, India
For years, Mythili’s young life was hindered by crippling exhaustion. She became so tired that she couldn’t go to school or even walk.
The cause of her exhaustion became evident at a routine preschool check-up, where they detected heart problems.
Her parents relentlessly searched for answers, consulting numerous doctors and hospitals. The answer was always the same — the complexity of her heart defect made surgery too high-risk.
In 2019, Mythili’s story took a turn when her pediatrician referred her to Dr. Raju Vijayakumar (Dr. Vijay) at G. Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, our partner hospital in Coimbatore, India.
A lucky opportunity for Mythili’s case, Children’s HeartLink medical volunteer Dr. Christopher Baird from Boston Children’s Hospital happened to be in Coimbatore for a training exchange focused on complex surgeries during this time.
Dr. Vijay performed a transformative operation on Mythili’s heart, with Dr. Baird standing beside him for guidance.
After training with Dr. Baird, Dr. Vijay was empowered to start to independently perform this relatively rare, complex operation on more children, heralding a new chapter of hope and healing for patients like Mythili.
Mythili’s parents are happy that Mythili can now focus on her studies. As for Mythili, she wants to learn tailoring and has made her mother a green sari. Dr. Vijay hopes that she will go on to study nursing, then come and join his cardiac team.
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