Gritty driver brings ailing infant from Mangaluru to Bengaluru in 4.5 hours

In a brave act, fighting against the odds, an ambulance driver covered a distance of 380 km (Mangaluru to Bengaluru) in 270 minutes (4.5 hours) to save the life of a 40-day-old baby born with an ailing heart. Starting from Fr Muller Medical College Hospital (FMMCH) in Mangaluru at 12 noon, with the 40-day-old baby, KMCC ambulance driver Mohammed Haneef reached Bengaluru’s Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (SJICSR) at 4:10 pm.

The baby named Saiful Azhman was diagnosed with Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection, a congenital heart defect. Upon diagnosis, the doctors at Mangaluru advised the parents to shift the baby to Jayadeva hospital in Bengaluru for specialised treatment. Tipped about the condition of the baby, Haneef a native of Balanja in Belthangady, who was in Bengaluru, reached Mangaluru in the wee hours of Thursday.

“At 12 noon along with the baby’s parents and relatives, I left the hospital. En route, I stopped the ambulance for 10 minutes to facilitate the medical staff to change the oxygen cylinder. By 4:10 pm, I entered the Jayadeva hospital in Bengaluru,” Haneef told media persons on his arrival at Jayadeva in Bengaluru.

Haneef attributed his safe journey to the cooperation of the police who not only ensured zero-traffic all through the way, but also assisted in controlling the crowd.

Haneef was given a rousing welcome by the public and onlookers upon his arrival at Jayadeva Hospital and felicitated for his exemplary act.

Interestingly, nine-months ago Haneef had covered the distance of 380 km between Bengaluru and Calicut in 250 minutes. The Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) has waived of the ambulance charges and wished speedy recovery of the baby.

Baby to undergo surgery

Upon arrival at the Jayadeva Hospital, the medical staff immediately rushed the baby to the emergency ward and conducted several checkups. Giving details of the medical condition of the baby. Dr C N Manjunath, director of SJICSR, said, “The baby will undergo surgery in a couple of days.

The parents need not worry about the money and one in thousand children will be born with this type of ailment. The baby has a hole in the heart which affects the pumping of the blood. We are diagnosing the baby further and have provided it antibiotics as the baby is also suffering from pneumonia.”