Meghalaya Govt initiatives save Little Chuesa’s life

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 16, 2022

Not long ago, One and half year old Chuesa’s could not walk like any other kids of her age as she had some heart problems and her fingers, nails and lips would turned bluish.

Her parent Arphon D Marak, a police constable and his wife were gravely worried for the life of their daughter

Fearing the worst, the parents took their daughter to Tura Civil hospital where they diagnosed her with congenital heart disease (CHD).

They referred her to Shillong for further treatment and the doctors recommended for surgery.

But parents were apprehensive about the surgery and did not go through with it.

When Chuesa did not start walking even at the age of two, her parents took her to the District Maternity and Child Hospital in Tura where she was referred to a specialist at the District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) under Rashtriya Bal Swasthiya Karyakram (RBSK).

The Meghalaya Government has taken various initiatives to counter CHD.  After understanding the importance of speciality treatment for CHDs, MOUs were signed with hospitals like Apollo Chennai, Apollo Guwahati and Amrita Institute of Medical Science (AIMS) for secondary and tertiary care management for all paediatric cardiology cases detected by DEIC under the RBSK scheme from the state of Meghalaya.

The MoUs were signed between the RBSK, National Health Mission (NHM), Meghalaya and Apollo Hospital Enterprise on May 2022 and with AIMS on July 2022.

Sensing Chuesa parents Arphon D Marak and Mairinia R Marak apprehensions, the doctors and social workers at DEIC counselled them on the importance of getting little Chuesa treated/operated at the earliest.

“The staff made sure that we understand the procedure thoroughly and they were always available and willing to answer any of our doubts even over the phone’’, said the father. 

A month after the successful surgery of little Chuesa, her mother fondly looks at her daughter walking and playing about with her peers. “We have even enrolled her in play school now” a grateful Mairinia R Marak says “After the surgery, the bluish tint on her skin has disappeared, and as a mother, I am overjoyed to see my daughter walking, mingling and playing about as other normal kids of her age”.

The parents still visit DEIC regularly for check-ups and follow up care to ensure that she leads a normal life.

“Poor access to quality health care for children has long been hindered by challenges like lack of awareness, the mindset of parents, and poverty’’ said Ramkumar S, IAS, Mission Director, National Health Mission, Meghalaya.

 The DEIC has been able to screen over 1,78,000 children last year in Garo hills region alone.

Children with mild ailments are referred to Civil Hospital for treatment, however, for children with serious conditions such as CHD, Corneal Opacity, Cleft Lip, etc., are referred to tertiary care centres such as the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) Shillong, Bansara Eyecare Centre, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre (AIMS) Kochi and Mission Smile, Guwahati.

Chuesa was one of the 14 CHD patients recommended for surgery from the Garo Hills region during a CHD screening camp organised by the DEIC in Tura.

Surgery for these 14 CHD child patients were conducted by some of the country’s top cardiologists at AIMS, Kochi as per the MoU signed between the State government and the hospital.

‘’Under the RBSK scheme all expenses including travel, accommodation, and treatment were covered for all patients’’ informed Johnson J Nongbet, State RBSK Consultant, NHM, Meghalaya.