Pinky's Story

"Pinky" was born with a hole in her heart in Hyderabad, in south-central India. Doctors call her condition "acyanotic heart disease" and believe that if open-heart surgery is to be successful, it should be performed at an early age. When Pinky (real name, Swetha Gupta) came to Canada for her operation three and a half years ago, she was already 18 months old. The tiny child, greatly underweight, was given a 50-percent chance of survival.

Pinky's story began when Dr. Nat Shah was on a flight during a visit to India and got talking to his seatmate on the airplane. When Shah mentioned that his small niece in New Delhi had had surgery in Ottawa by a renowned physician, Dr. Wilbert Keon, the stranger said he knew of another little girl (Pinky) who desperately needed heart surgery.

Shah told the Cappuccinos, who responded that Pinky must be brought to Canada for a heart operation - somewhow or other money would be found. Since Pinky's parents could not travel (they had recently adopted a baby boy), Bonnie flew to India and returned with the sick child and her grandparents.

In March, 1987, Dr. Keon and a skilled five-member team mended the hole in Pink's heart in a five-hour operation.

Today, (December, 1990) five-year-old Pinky is alive, in good health, in her homeland.

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