Under the scheme, select hospitals of Punjab were empanelled to treat such children at highly concessional rates. Although the rates offered to hospitals were far less than their normal rates, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Laxmi Kanta Chawla herself convened a meeting of these select hospitals to appeal to them to agree to be a part of the welfare scheme. And Hero DMC Heart Institute was one of the hospitals which gave its approval to the scheme.

The opportunity came as a god-send for Sneha’s parents. They personally met the minister who directed the authorities to help Sneha as she was studying in a government school and therefore could benefit under the scheme. The paper formalities concerning her surgery were quickly processed by the health authorities at Parivar Kalyan Bhawan, Chandigarh. She was then admitted at HDHI and underwent the surgery to repair her defective heart valve and close the two holes in it.

But another challenge arose when the doctors realized that to correct her very low heartbeat, she also needed a pacemaker implantation. But unfortunately it was a procedure that could not be covered under the government scheme. Not to be cowed down by setbacks, her parents took the initiative to mobilize the funds needed for the pacemaker implantation. An appeal was issued by them to local philanthropic organizations and individuals. On their appeal, many contributors came forward to fund Sneha’s case, with Onkar Singh Pahwa of Avon Cycles, where her father works, leading the way with a donation of Rs 50,000.

... contd.