Valley of Love (VoL), a Dubai-based non-profit voluntary organisation, is raising funds for 26-year-old Neelkantha Mishra, an office boy who has been diagnosed with a rare heart disease.
"I came to Dubai in July 2004 to join a construction company. But in May 2005, I suddenly lost weight and had fever for several days, followed by chest pain and breathing difficulty. The company sent me to Rashid Hospital where an angiography was done," said Mishra, who hails from Nepal.
"After an electrocardiogram (ECG), he was found to be suffering from Brugada's Syndrome, a congenital disease marked by significant electrical instability that happens any time, leading to sudden cardiac arrest," disclosed Dr Khalifa Omar, who is treating Mishra at Rashid Hospital. "Brugada's Syndrome is very unpredictable and this patient is at high risk, as his relatives have died suddenly," he explained. Mishra has already lost his parents and two sisters to the disease.
Dr Omar said an Implanted Cardio Defibrillator (ICD) has to be fitted inside the patient to give an electric shock to the heart whenever it senses a bad rhythm. It is much more expensive than a pacemaker. "The ICD, which pumps the heart, can be fitted in half an hour," he said. "We are trying to find a suitable ICD for the patient," he said.
According to R.K. Nair, a senior VoL member, the ICD cost has been quoted as Dh55,000. A bank account (Emirates Bank account No 0055-072980-100, Al Souk Branch, Bur Dubai) has been opened in Mishra's name to facilitate mobilisation of funds.
Mishra does a 6am to 8pm duty, filing and distributing papers as well as making and serving tea at an office. He earns around Dh1,100 a month and shares the company accommodation with colleagues.
55,000
dirhams is the cost of an implanted cardio defibrillator that may help save Mishra
