Surgery saves baby

KENDREYA: BORN WITH HOLE IN HEART THAT AFFECTED BLOOD FLOW

- Citizen reporter

Baby Kendreya Pillay seemed like any newborn – until her tiny chest began rising and falling rapidly and she quickly grew tired.

Born in October 2024 to Paroosha Naidoo and Kevin Pillay in Chatsworth, Durban, Kendreya's dad remembers those early days vividly: "Her stomach would sink with every breath, like her little body was working overtime just to breathe."

As the weeks passed, Kendreya's breathing worsened.

Kevin juggled night shifts, driving Paroosha and Kendreya between hospital appointments and tests.

Then came the devastating diagnosis – a large hole in the heart was affecting baby Kendreya's blood flow.

Surgery was initially scheduled for March, when Kendreya would be six months old, but this was not to be.

The team of doctors at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital did everything they could to help, but resources at the government hospital could not cope with the desperate need for such specialized procedures.

"It broke our hearts as the doctors had warned us that after eight or nine months, surgery becomes much riskier," Kevin said.

Cardiothoracic surgeon and founder of the Young Hearts Africa Foundation, Dr Wilhelm Lichtenberg, has made it his life's purpose to reach children with life-threatening heart defects like Kendreya's.