By this time next week Arun’s heart will be repaired ..

It should have been done years ago..

Today is the first time I could spend some quality time with this quiet, unassuming child… His tired smile was filled with hope and his frail body spoke volumes ..

Arun speaks in a soft, barely audible, voice.. he seems to have perfected the art of being unobtsrusive, almost invisible..

I wondered what went on in his mind .. Arun has held on to life.. imagine this child has gone through so much medical investigation.. so much discomfort and even pain.. and yet he continued to hold on..

I asked him what he likes eating and he simply said lauki and khichri… I guess this has been his diet for many years, a diet normally given to sick people..

Next week doctors are going to repair a congenital defect, something that would have been done years ago if Arun had been born in your or my home..

I know we will not be able to give him back his childhood, but let us hope Arun will soon lead the life any 14 year old should….