William
William’s parents were excited when their first child was born. Yet within weeks, serious health issues arose. William became fatigued while feeding, his body took on a purple tone whenever he cried, and his large and small motor skills did not develop at the expected rate. He was in and out of the public hospital. The cardiologist who examined William explained to his worried parents that their baby suffered a serious ventricular septal defect that urgently required surgery.
William’s father is a carpenter who works job-to-job and earns less than two hundred fifty dollars per month. The family has no health insurance, lives in a single room owned by an uncle and struggles to make ends meet. The public hospital in their city could not perform the surgery required and the family’s only hope was to access assistance that would allow their son to receive the care he needed.
With the help of Dharma Social Projects, William received surgery. His heart can pump blood at a normal rate without overworking his lungs. With the care of his parents, he can now begin to grow and develop movement skills appropriate for his age. In short, William has begun to live.