CNN-IBN

Mohali (Punjab), Jun 28: Eleven-month-old Junaid will celebrate his first birthday in a month's time, but he has already received his birthday gift.

Doctors of Fortis Hospital in Punjab’s Mohali successfully conducted a life-saving heart surgery on the infant, free of cost.

A Pakistan national, Junaid was diagnosed with ventricular septum defect, commonly referred to a hole in the heart.

Mending hearts: Junaid's parents could not afford the expensive surgery and brought him to India 

He could have died of heart failure had he not been rushed to India for treatment. Junaid's father Aizaz and mother Rehana did not have the Rs four lakh required for the expensive treatment.

But thanks to the improving Indo-Pak relations, they were able to cross the border for their child's treatment.
“We salute the soil of this land that has saved my child’s life,” Junaid’s father Aijaz Ali says.

“The people here are very nice. We will always remember Hindustan,” Junaid’s mother Rahana says.

The surgery should have ideally been conducted when Junaid was five months old. Though the crucial delay worried the Fortis doctors, but they were all smiles after it was successful.

“The child has done well, especially his parents who will go home with a child who looks very different. If you had seen him earlier you would have seen that he looks very different now,” Cardiac surgeon, Dr T S Mahant, says.

The Rotary Club, that brought Junaid to India, is now planning to bring in more children from Pakistan for free treatment.

"We are looking forward to further consolidating our service program and we have approved a project by which we will be able to get 20 more children from Pakistan for cardiac corrective surgeries which may be even more difficult,” Rotarian, R K Saboo, says.

So while Junaid has got a fresh lease of life to celebrate his first birthday, doctors are looking forward to literally mending hearts and building bridges.