Born without food pipe, Angel is ready to taste new life

LUDHIANA: Every time two-and-a-half-years-old Angel used to rush to the kitchen and pick up a plate seeking food, her family members were left in tears as they knew that she could not be given eatables in view of her medical condition.
Born without a food pipe, the child had been surviving on liquid diet through the artificial pipe attached with her body externally.
But Angel of Gandhi Nagar area finally got operated and got the food pipe installed in her body, all thanks to some city residents who raised funds for her treatment.
Angel’s father, settled in Manali, is a salesman and had even sold his house for the initial treatment of his daughter. To get the best treatment, the parents left her daughter with their maternal uncle Pankaj Sharma in Ludhiana.
Pankaj said, “Angel was born without a food pipe and we had to spend a lot on her operation to get an artificial food pipe attached with her body. In these two-and-a-half years, Angel could not taste any food and was put on a liquid diet. Seeing other children of her age, she would also crave for food and would rush to the kitchen to have it. We had lost all hope to get her operation done, however thanks to all donors, Angel can have food like any other children.”
NGO Navchetna, which works for child welfare, first came up to help the girl. Sukhdhir Singh Sekhon, president of NGO, took the girl to different hospitals for tests. After visiting a few hospitals, the doctors at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital assured him and the girl’s family of success after operation.
Sekhon said, “The moment I saw that little girl, I decided to put in best efforts to raise funds for her treatment. I talked to the members of our organization and we collected Rs 60,000 in a couple of days. Then I approached city-based Rock Foundation which contributed Rs 40,000 and deposited the amount in hospital.”
For medicines and other tests, Rs 40,000 and Rs 20,000 were contributed by Navcehtna and Arun Sharma of Madhopuri, respectively.
While the total cost of treatment was Rs 2.5 lakh, Rs 1 lakh has been deposited in the hospital’s account and rest of the expenses would be borne by Arya Smaj, Model Town, and BCM Arya Model School, Shastri Nagar, Sekhon said.
Angel has been operated now and presently is under observation in the ICU.