Appeal for help: I’m Struggling To Save My 45-Day-Old Baby Girl

I’m a father of an extremely premature born baby girl. It’s been 45 days 4 hours since my first and only child came into my life and I still haven’t been allowed to hold, touch or even stand near her. My only view of her has been through the glass walls of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) that contains her tiny body. With needles and breathing pipes travelling in and out of her delicate structure, I still haven’t figured if my baby has taken after her mother or me.

Taking her out of the NICU would kill her - that’s my reality. And to add to all of this, the amount on my hospital bills has been giving me sleepless nights. If I fail to pay soon, I’ll be forced to take my daughter home when her life depends on the NICU. Please help me keep my daughter alive by making a donation - it would mean everything to me. 

My name is Nazir Ahmed Shaikh. I got married to my beautiful wife Seema in October 2013. We’ve been on our own since we got married because we had both tragically lost our parents before we got married. A few months later, we wanted to start a family of our own. It was such a big moment for me. I remember feeling relieved knowing she wants the same things as me. We’d been unsuccessfully trying to conceive for a long time so we decided to see the doctor to find out if everything was fine. After undergoing a few tests, we found out that my wife Seema has a fibroid in her stomach which was affecting her ability to get pregnant thus reducing the chances of fertility by as much as 70%. Our hearts sank. The weeks that followed were emotional for both of us. With time, however, we learned to make peace with it. 4 years after our marriage, Seema was pregnant, we were miraculously blessed with a child. I was finally going to become a father! That feeling was just surreal.

I started reading on parenting and training myself for her due date. One lazy afternoon, on June 22, during Ramadan, my wife complained of discomfort followed with acute pain. I tried to stay calm but all
 my attempts were futile because I felt extremely unprepared and overwhelmed. She was in her last trimester but still over 2 months away from her due date. Looking at her misery, I rushed to Habib Hospital in Kurla. And then a whole lot of complications surfaced.

The doctors started by explaining that I would have to take them to another hospital because their facilities were inadequate at that point. Later, they tried to explain the situation to me in simple words. They said that the fluid around my baby was beginning to leak and if I don’t get my wife operated in the next hour, I could end up losing both my child and my wife.

I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe this was happening to my family. I froze, I just didn’t understand what to do. All this while, my wife was by my side, now she was in labour and I was at the risk of losing the two most important people in my life - my wife and my unborn child who we had been waiting for since the last 7 months.

With the help of a few close friends, I managed to get my wife in time to the Holy Spirit Hospital. While my wife was in the operation theatre, several thoughts were running through my mind, most of them were scary. I was thinking of all the good things I’ve done in my life, hoping God considers those and doesn’t take away my happiness. I was blessed with yet another miracle that I thank God for everyday. The doctor came out of the operation theatre and informed me that my wife was out of danger, holding the tiniest baby I’ve ever seen. And just seconds later, before I could get a glimpse of her, they took her straight to the NICU. And here I am, still longing to just see her properly.

My daughter has sepsis

It’s a serious and life-threatening condition where a child’s organs and tissues are damaged as the body attempts to fight an infection. On account of the premature delivery, my baby’s immune system is underdeveloped. I’ve seen horrifying things happening to her. She’s been having trouble breathing on her own because of which sometimes sufficient oxygen doesn’t reach her brain. The doctor has assisted her respiration with breathing pipes for now. At times, when her heart rate increases, my blood runs cold. Her body even needs timely blood transfusions.

Seeing her fragile body go through so much has been extremely painful for both me and Seema. From the warm, comforting womb of her mother, she’s come straight to this hell of pain and discomfort and there’s absolutely nothing I can do.

My monthly salary is Rs. 8,000 per month and Seema is a housewife. The treatment cost is coming up to Rs. 2,55,000 along with the hospitalisation, test and medicine cost which has crossed over Rs. 1,50,000 already. And I may need a lot more. It’s not in my capabilities to manage an amount that high. With support from the only well-wishers I have, I’ve managed to buy more time for my baby by paying the bills in parts. When I called my relatives to inform them about my wife’s pregnancy, they congratulated me and said they’d be there if I need them but now when I ask for loans or monetary help, the same people avoid my calls.

If my parents or in-laws were alive today, I wouldn’t have felt so powerless and lonely.

Taking care of Seema, paying bills, running around to manage money all by myself has been extremely exhausting. I’m physically, emotionally and financially drained.

At this point of my life, when I have very few people that I can call my own, I hope you’ll help me save my daughter’s life by donating to my fundraiser on Ketto.org and help me live this one last miracle.

(Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article and has not been independently verified or edited by DNA)