Vadodara baby survives Covid-induced scare, goes home

After spending three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit NICUmdashwhere he was sent minutes after his birthmdashon highflow ventilator support Narsinh a Vadodara newborn diagnosed with multiinflammatory syndromeneonates MISN left the hospital with his mother on SaturdayWhile the infant managed to survive the deadly disease many newborns unfortunately could not sustain their fight for long The infant has been tagged a lsquofighterrsquo by the NICU staff midday in its article lsquoExpectant mother Mask up especially in the last trimesterrsquo dated October 7 had highlighted the growing number of newborns succumbing to Covidrelated ailments despite their mothers displaying no symptomsNarsinh and his three elder sisters Kavya Janki and TulsiDr Rajesh Parikh an obstetrician and gynaecologist who runs the Madhuvan Maternity and Eye Hospital in Vadodara Gujarat had said ldquoFour newborns from my maternity home were unfortunately diagnosed with Covidrelated MISN and three have already succumbed The fourth a threekilogram baby Narsinh who was delivered fullterm on September 27 with no distress or problem at the time of birth suddenly showed persistent grunting and had to be shifted to the neonatal ICUrdquoAlso Read Mumbai Expectant mother Mask up especially in last trimesterA tweet by Dr Parikh on the newbornrsquos condition in late September has gone viral and is also being discussed by medical experts The infant was then shifted to a bigger setup Kashiben Gordhandas Patel Children Hospital in Vadodra where he was being treated by wellknown paediatrician Dr Jainish BhandariFighterIt was an emotional moment for the entire team comprising Dr Kiran and Dr Ambali and the nursing staff at NICU of Kashiben Gordhandas Patel Children Hospital as the mother took the child in her arms and they walked out of the hospital on Saturday eveningDr Jainish BhandariTeamworkDr Jainish Bhandari said ldquoThere are times when even a doctorrsquos best efforts canrsquot fetch you the desired outcome But when on some rare occasions such as this one with the help of a lot of hard teamwork and a little bit of divine help we are able to save the lives of kids that seemed impossible that is what makes ours the most satisfying profession in the worldrdquolsquoPrayers do results in miraclesrsquoDr Rajesh Parikh at whose hospital the infant was born was happy on learning about his discharge He said ldquoMedical science is still a work in progress but sincere and dedicated teamwork of doctors and paramedical staff with a generous dose of good wishes and prayers do result in miracles This is the result I wanted and it happened I cannot be happier for the parents and child and the awareness it created May all newborns have the same fortunerdquoEarly DiwaliFor the parents the childrsquos recovery was a blessing from above The boyrsquos three elder sisters Kavya Janki and Tulsi aged seven five and two respectively were also excited to welcome their brother homeDr Rajesh Parikh an obstetrician and gynaecologistHis father Radhesh Dabhi 32 a chartered accountant by profession said ldquoDiwali has come a week ahead of time for our family It was only because of Thakurjirsquos blessings that we got our son back The Mahabharata war lasted for eighteen days similarly for exactly eighteen days my Narsinh was fighting his battle with MISN and finally emerged safe from the jaws of death He came home on the 19th dayrdquoldquoDuring the birth of my three daughters none of them had any complications or required hospitalisation and even though the fourth delivery was normal my Narsinh suddenly developed a breathing issue and had to be rushed to the NICU Even his mother could not even see him after the deliveryrdquo he addedAsked if he or his wife Neeta 29 had any symptoms Radhesh responded in negative ldquoWe had even taken vaccines My wife was fit and all her health parameters were normal other than a minor coughrdquo he saidTip to stay healthyldquoI will advise others to give up eating junk food It is a practice at our house to offer food cooked at home to Thakurji first as prasadrdquo he said What nextRadhesh said the family would visit their native village in North Gujarat soon ldquoI have not thought about any plans for any of my four children All I want is that they should be devotees of Thakurji and do seva If they can inculcate this habit from childhood I am sure that they will take care of us their parents when they grow uprdquo27The day in September when the infant was delivered