Building a Legacy: Transforming CHD Care in Pakistan

From a family vacation that turned tragic to the creation of Pakistan's first specialized children's heart hospital, Ana Tanveer Abdullah's journey illustrates how profound loss can spark transformative change.

When Ana's athletic, academically gifted brother Daniel collapsed unexpectedly at age 15, no one suspected a heart condition. Despite receiving a pacemaker after being diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, Danial passed away at 16 while awaiting a heart transplant in India. This devastating loss became the catalyst for an extraordinary mission.

Together with her father and Farhan Ahmad (who also lost a child to congenital heart disease), Ana founded the Pakistan Children's Heart Foundation with an ambitious vision: to build the country's first specialized cardiac hospital for children. Through innovative fundraising campaigns inspired by Danial's athletic spirit and tireless advocacy, they've now achieved what once seemed impossible.

The Children's Heart Hospital opens in Lahore this April, eliminating the need for Pakistani families to seek expensive treatment abroad. Beyond the physical facility, their "Project by Danial" trains young cardiologists and surgeons specifically in pediatric cardiac care, ensuring sustainable healthcare improvements throughout the country.

Ana's story reminds us of the remarkable resilience of the human spirit. "We are trying to find peace in this world," she reflects. "He had already found his peace." Through their foundation's life-saving work, Danial's legacy touches countless families across Pakistan, transforming one family's grief into hope for an entire nation.

Join our community and discover how you can support organizations like the Pakistan Children's Heart Foundation that are changing the landscape of pediatric cardiac care worldwide.

Link to Global Cardiac Alliance: https://cardiac-alliance.org/

Link to the Heart to Heart with Anna episode featuring Farhan Ahmad: https://www.buzzsprout.com/62761/398968-a-miracle-in-pakistan

Pakistan Children's Heart Foundation (PCHF): https://pchf.org.pk/

Project Danial: https://pchf.org.pk/cause/project-danial/

Chapters

• 0:00 A Brother's Unexpected Diagnosis
• 4:41 Introduction and Anne-Marie's Legacy
• 9:55 Dr. Novick's Global Cardiac Alliance
• 14:57 Ana's Brother Daniel and His Condition
• 24:56 The Search for a Heart Transplant
• 30:41 Creating Heart for Daniel Foundation
• 35:15 Building Pakistan's First Children's Heart Hospital

Transcript

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: [00:00:00] He's very good in sports. He is very good in education. He was a topper. He scored highest marks in his matriculation. We never thought that such an active child might have some kind of disease, which is heart-related. 

Anna Jaworski: Welcome to Heart to Heart with Anna, where we share stories of hope, resilience, and connection for families affected by congenital heart defects. I'm Anna Jaworski, your host, and the mother of an adult child born with a single ventricle heart. My personal journey is what led me here. And it's why I'm so passionate about bringing you these conversations and resources.

Anna's Story

Anna Jaworski: Before we dive into today's episode, I want to take a moment to honor the memory of a remarkable friend and mentor, Ann Marie Karl, who passed away earlier this year and was laid to rest on April 5th, 2025. Ann Marie was more than a friend. She was a guiding [00:01:00] light during one of the most challenging times in my life.

When I was overwhelmed by the idea of starting a nonprofit, it was Ann Marie who offered the encouragement and practical advice I needed to take that first step.

Her gentle wisdom and unwavering support gave me the confidence to launch Hearts Unite the Globe, an organization whose very name and mission were inspired by her thoughtful suggestions. Ann Marie's kindness extended far beyond our conversations.

She welcomed my daughter Hope to her church for Thanksgiving when she was far from home, and Ann Marie dedicated herself to causes she cared deeply about-- from protecting dolphins to advocating at the United Nations to help prevent sex trafficking.

Her faith was the source of strength and hope, and her belief in the power of compassion continues to inspire me and so many others. 

Today's episode is especially [00:02:00] meaningful because it's all about the ripple effect of kindness and the power of turning personal loss into hope for others.

In just a few minutes, you'll hear from a bereaved sister who, along with her father and Farhan Ahmad, founded Heart for Danial, a nonprofit that helped create the first hospital in Lahore, Pakistan dedicated to treating children with congenital heart defects. Their story is a testament to what's possible when love and determination come together.

CHD News

Anna Jaworski: But first, in congenital heart defect news, I want to spotlight the extraordinary work of one of Hearts Unite the Globe's medical advisory board members. Dr. William Novick is the CEO of Global Cardiac Alliance, formerly known as Novick Cardiac Alliance. Dr. Novick and his [00:03:00] team do so much more than perform surgeries.

They travel to places where families have little hope, bringing not just their skills, but a promise that no child should be denied a future because of where they were born. In Libya, Ukraine, the Dominican Republic, and beyond they've performed thousands of life-saving surgeries, trained local doctors, and built bridges of knowledge with a passion that endure long after each mission ends. Their commitment means that parents who once feared for their children's lives can now watch them run, play, and dream again. The spirit of justice, of fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves is at the very heart of our community.

It's a thread that connects. Dr. Novick's work to the legacy of Ann-Marie Karl, whose faith and advocacy inspired so many, and to the story you'll hear next. 

Today's guest, Ana Tanveer Abdullah as well [00:04:00] as her father, and Farhan Ahmad, are also champions for the vulnerable. After losing Ana's brother Danial to congenital heart disease, they turned their grief into action. Founded Heart for Danial to bring life-saving care to children in Pakistan. Like Dr. Novick and Ann Marie, they're justice fighters-- people who see the most helpless amongst us and refuse to look away. Their stories remind us that real change happens when ordinary people choose to stand up for the vulnerable, to champion hope, and to build a future where every child has a chance. Stay with us. After the break, you'll hear how Ana, her family, and their partners are making that vision a reality, one heart at a time.

Segment 2

HUG Message: Heart to Heart with Anna is a presentation of Hearts Unite the Globe and is part of the HUG Podcast Network [00:05:00] Hearts Unite The Globe is a nonprofit organization devoted to providing resources to the congenital heart defect community, to uplift, empower, and enrich the lives of our community members. If you would like access to free resources pertaining to the CHD community, please visit our website at www.congenitalheartdefects.com for information about CHD, the hospitals that treat children with CHD, summer camps for CHD survivors and much, much more.

HUG Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The opinions expressed in the podcast are not those of Hearts Unite the Globe, but of the hosts and guests, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to congenital heart disease or bereavement.

Interview

Anna Jaworski: I'm very excited today to welcome Ana Tanveer Abdullah. Ana Tanveer Abdullah currently lives in [00:06:00] Lahore, Pakistan with her husband Abdullah Qazi.

She was born in Pakistan. Her brother Danial had cardiomyopathy and her family worked tirelessly to get him the support he needed. The family established a Facebook page for Danial: Heart for Danial, which fundraised for children in need with heart conditions. Although they approached services in Canada and India for transplant, sadly, Danial passed away at 16 years of age before he could get a transplant. He died from cardiomyopathy. Ana and her father met heart dad, Farhan Ahmad, who lost his daughter to CHD, or congenital heart defects. My longtime guest may remember Farhan from when he was on my program in 2016 for my CHDs Around the Globe series.

I'll put the link to that program in the show notes. Together, Farhan and Ana's families initiated the Pakistan Children's Heart Foundation or PCHF, and [00:07:00] hope to establish the first specialized heart hospital in Pakistan. Today, the foundation supports the training of surgeons to perform cardiac procedures on children with CHD.

Welcome to Heart to Heart with Anna, Ana. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Thank you so much for inviting me on this show. 

Anna Jaworski: I'm so happy to finally meet you. You and I have been corresponding on Facebook for years, I think it's been, and I'm so happy to get to know you better.

We learned that your brother had a heart condition in the opening. Can you tell us when that condition was discovered? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: It was back in 2013 when we went for vacations in Islamberg. On that day, we did not really know what actually happened to him. We were just roaming around in a park and he felt suffocated and he said, "Let's go to a hotel, and just rest." 

So my father said, "Okay, let's go back to the hotel." We went to the hotel. His condition was worsening, and he said, [00:08:00] "I would like to take a shower." My mother said, "Okay, fine. You can go take a shower." I was waiting outside for him. Once he come out, then we will go around and just play, because he was 15 and I was just 20 years old so we were siblings who love to spend time together. So once he came back from the shower, he asked me to, "Let's go and walk in the lobby." And we went. Suddenly he collapsed on the floor and I was so scared that I just shouted, "Mama!" Once I turned around, he said, "Aapi!", he was standing on his feet. I was so scared what actually happened to him.

And I just... 

Anna Jaworski: Yeah 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: ...grabbed him up. And I rushed back. They pulled him out on a wheelchair and dragged him to the car. And my father started calling his friends because when he was a kid, he was discovered with asthma. So everybody thought that it just was an asthma attack, but we didn't know what actually going to happen. 

Anna Jaworski: So, when he was younger, he was [00:09:00] diagnosed with asthma. Did he have inhalers and did he have any special treatments for his asthma?

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Not inhalers, but yes, he did have some kind of special treatments for asthma. Just the medications, regular medicines. My family actually inherited asthma from their grandparents, so... 

Anna Jaworski: Mm-hmm. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: They have given this disease to youngsters like my brother had, and a few of my cousins also had that. The family doctor said maybe because my parents were cousins, it might be because of the cousin marriage that everything inherited within my brother, unfortunately. . 

Anna Jaworski: Yes, that is a problem. But they didn't suspect a heart defect at that time. They just thought it was the asthma. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah, because his doctor actually ran some random tests. Not the particularly heart test. Though my father was on a concern that we have to check everything from the beginning, but they said everything is fine.

So he's a very good swimmer. He is very good in [00:10:00] sports. He is very good at education. He was a topper. He scored highest miles in his matriculation. We never thought that such an active child, might have some kind of, disease, which is heart-related. 

Anna Jaworski: Right. Absolutely. That makes sense. You would think if a child had a heart problem, they certainly wouldn't be able to swim or participate in sports. So when was it diagnosed? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: The exact diagnosis took place in the beginning of 2014, January, because in, August.

2013, The doctor said that he had some kind of heart failure, so we need to place a pacemaker, in his body. And we were really shocked what happened to him all of a sudden that, everybody saying that he needs a pacemaker because his left ventricle was collapsing. 

Anna Jaworski: Oh my gosh.

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: It was a very hard night. Yeah. We were in Islamabad, another city from our homeland, which is 400 kilometers away from our home city. So we were alone. We don't really have any [00:11:00] relatives or anyone there to support us or to be there for us. So my father was the only person who took initiative, who decided, okay, let's just do the pacemaker thing.

Because it was a strike on that day. So no special or high profession doctors were available at that time. But , fortunately, one of his very kind friend who was a cardiologist, he was available. We went to his hospital. We did all the procedures, admit him and it took almost 12 hours to take up all the procedures, not the surgery. Surgery was, again, very problematic because he went into ICU and after 30 minutes, his surgeon came out and congratulated us that everything went well. He's coming back. But it went 40 minutes more than that, we were still waiting for him.

My father was very curious and worried about him. What happened? 

Anna Jaworski: Mm-hmm. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Why he is not coming back to the ICU room? So he went back and, he told us that [00:12:00] my brother had an heart attack during the surgery. But Allah Almighty saved him again. He saved him twice. One when he collapsed on the floor, it was a minor heart attack. He stood up, and then during the surgery... again, so... 

Anna Jaworski: Oh, so he was actually diagnosed with a minor heart attack that first time? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes yes. 

Anna Jaworski: Wow. And so young and athletic!

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah. 

Anna Jaworski: That must have been such a shock for your family. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah, it was such a shocking night for us. It was really bad because I still remember, I love when it rain, when it pours, but that night it poured so hard, and thunder was so scary that we sat near the window of the hospital and we kept on praying for his recovery.

Anna Jaworski: Sure. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: It was very bad this night. 

Anna Jaworski: So he had the surgery. The surgeon came out and said, "Oh, everything's great." And you're waiting and waiting and waiting. He's still not showing up. And then your dad says, "What's going on?" And they [00:13:00] said, "Oh, he had a heart attack." 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah. 

Anna Jaworski: What did they do? I'm sure they were able to revive him because I know there's more to this story, but they were able to revive him and then how long was it after that, before you were actually able to see him? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: After this whole conversation, it took 20 minutes for the doctors to make him come back to life. And the pacemaker started working. They checked upon him and then they transferred him to the room and we were so relieved to see him, to look at his face. He was alive looking at us. His eyes were open. We were smiling, not crying in front of him. We were so happy. Yeah, 

Anna Jaworski: Exactly. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: At that time he said that I want to be a doctor. I want to learn what happened to my body while they fixed me with the pacemaker, because it itches him so much. When he laid down on the bed, I actually can see it on the skin. It was so revealing through his skin. There were so many [00:14:00] precautions with all the pacemaker patients.

I would like to tell you about that. There might be some people who might not know. What are the precautions for the people who have a pacemaker installed within their body? Like for example, they cannot pass through the security chambers. 

Anna Jaworski: Mm-hmm. , 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: It'll weaken their batteries. And especially the pregnant ladies, it's very harmful for them if they have the pacemaker. They cannot lie on their left-hand side for longer periods of time because it really hurt them. Technically, it's not really easy for the one who have the pacemakers installed. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: And then on that day, the doctor said to my brother Danial, "D don't worry, you're not going to have another heart attack for your entire life because now you have the pacemaker." But that statement, it's not true, I must say. In the later stages he did had one again when he died. 

Anna Jaworski: Wow. And still so young because he died as a [00:15:00] teenager. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah. 

Anna Jaworski: Unbelievable. Well, share with me a favorite memory of Danial. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: There's so many. What can I tell you? I spent 16 years of my life with him. It was really amazing. I always wanted a brother because we had a gap of five-and-a-half years. I always wanted a brother, not a sister, because I thought sisters had cat fights and the brothers are so loving and they're so caring towards their sisters.

I always wanted to have the older brother, 

Anna Jaworski: Right. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: But I was the first so that could not happen. We had this, ceremony in our religion, which we have these goats and sheeps and everything.

I remember as a child I used to say the prayer 'I want a brother in the year of the sheep' so that whenever you go to the wall, please send this message to him that you give me a brother. 

Anna Jaworski: Oh, I love that so much. So you were more than a sister. You were probably like a little mother to him too, because you were so much [00:16:00] older.

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes I am . We shared everything. We shared nights together. For example, I was the one who gets scared from the dark, from the night, from the cat, and he's the one who saves me with... 

Anna Jaworski: Awww 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: ...these all scary stuff. Even I was not really good with my Urdu language because I was in an English-speaking school, so I had this poor writing skill.

My mother was so focused on my asthmatic brother... he was very dangerous. Whenever he cries, the oxygen level drops inside of his body just because of the asthma. I don't know why, but doctors say this is due to the asthma. He has very rare kind of an asthma. So my mother says that because of him I could not able to focus on your Urdu language subject. But yeah, I remember the sweetest memory. I do remember that whenever I had an exam, I used to ask him to teach me. He was so young, younger than me, but still he teaches me everything, and it was so easier. When he teaches me, I usually write [00:17:00] everything correctly in my exam. 

Anna Jaworski: Oh, wow. Yeah, so he was gifted with languages and he was able to pick up Urdu with no problem 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: and Arabic. 

Anna Jaworski: Even Arabic. So he had a gift? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah. Yeah, he had a gift 

Baby Hearts Press: Embark on a heartwarming odyssey with Baby Hearts Press, your gateway to uplifting stories for the CHD community. Introducing The Heart of a Heart Warrior book series inspiring those born with heart defect and their loved ones. Discover The Heart of a Mother, The Heart of a Father, and My Brother Needs an Operation. Books celebrating strength, love, and familial support. Visit BabyHeartsPress.com and be part of our loving community uplifting hearts one story at a time. 

Rejoiner: You are listening to Heart to Heart with Anna. If you have a question or comment that you would like addressed on our show, please send an email to Anna Jaworski at Anna@HearttoHeartwithAnna.com. That's [00:18:00] Anna@HearttoHeartwithAnna.com. Now back to Heart to Heart with Anna.

Anna Jaworski: Ana, I loved the memory that you shared. Obviously you had a very close relationship with your brother. Losing a sibling is such a difficult ordeal to live through and to think you saw him collapse, you actually saw him have a heart attack. You saw him after he had his pacemaker surgery when he had had another heart attack, so you had already seen him in dire straits before.

Tell us about how old you were when your brother died, and what happened to bring that about because you would like to think with the pacemaker, that there was not going to be a chance that he could die from something heart-related. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah, that's what the doctor promised us, unfortunately. I was 21 years old because it was a five-years gap between us, and [00:19:00] he was 16 when he died. 

Anna Jaworski: He only had one year with the pacemaker before he passed away. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Six months. 

Anna Jaworski: Six months? My goodness. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes. 

Anna Jaworski: So was there something wrong with that pacemaker? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Nothing was wrong with the pacemaker. Unfortunately. We actually now presume the doctors are not uh, what you can say.

They're not savers like we have given them credit during the Covid times, but I believe that there are some good doctors, I know that, but there are many doctors who are just working for the sake of making money. No matter who comes to me and say, "No, you are wrong." 

But we have been through this trauma. We know that if someone had diagnosed him at the right stage, at the right point, we might have him today, but still, I know that it's fate.

He has to go away at the age of 16, no matter what we do. He has to. I believe that, but still, I'm [00:20:00] not talking about my brother. There are so many young children who are just passing away from their parents and nobody is there to actually diagnose the diseases properly.

Anna Jaworski: Right. You said he had cardiomyopathy and I did not realize that a pacemaker was the proper treatment for that. I always associate pacemakers with rhythm, problems with the heart. So was that part of the problem that really they should have provided him with a different treatment? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: No, I will tell you the stories of the doctor-- what they have pitched to us. One of the doctors said that he had a viral effect, that his heart went into cardiomyopathy, and one of the doctors said it was, because of, consanguineous issue that certainly this disease came up because the doctor said it's in 0.05% of the population that people get diagnosed with this cardiomyopathy. Usually the sports person, while they were playing on a field, they died and during [00:21:00] their biopsies, they say that it's because of the cardiomyopathy. So there are mixed opinions of the doctors. Some also say that it might be due to the side effects of the asthmatic medicines and the Islam bar doctor who gave him the surgery for the pacemaker, who installed that, he said that he had a problem with the rhythm of the left ventricle.

But when we came back to Lahore and we went to many doctors , one of them said that he just have, one year to live because his heart is enlarged and his left side is still not working. 

Anna Jaworski: The left ventricle is so critical, that's the part of the heart that pumps the blood to the entire body.

So when there is something wrong with that, it can be fatal. You said that he died before he had a chance for a transplant. When they put the pacemaker in, did they say. " This is not going to completely fix the problem" and that he would need a heart then? Did they put him on the transplant list then? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: No, no, no, no, no, no.

The doctor [00:22:00] who installed the pacemaker, he said that now everything is fine. He is not going to have an heart attack. He has a rhythmatic problem with his heart. So pacemaker is the solution to the problem. So we agreed, 

Anna Jaworski: wow. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: But when we came back to Lahore, the doctor says something else, and one doctor said, "You cannot do anything. Just spend good time with him, because he is going to go within one year." Then my parents took him to another doctor. He suggested that we should look for the heart transplant because there is this system which can be installed for the temporary time till we find the heart transplant donation or donor.

Anna Jaworski: Mm-hmm. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: So then from there we started the struggle of communicating with the Canadian government, Canadian doctors, Indian government, Indian doctors. So I must say our neighboring country is very nice, very helpful. They have arranged everything but it took some time. Everything was not such quick thing.

But we arranged everything, the transportation, even the hospital [00:23:00] doctors and even the time, the date, everything was fixed. We were just waiting. It was a transition phase. We were supposed to travel on Friday. He was actually supposed to travel on Friday. Because the Indian doctor said that he needs a quickest transportation from the ambulance helicopter --you have to arrange from the government. So my father talked to the government of Pakistan to arrange this stuff because we have the border sharing in Lahore. So it was really easier for us to move. So we just have to go from Lahore to India on Friday, but he passed on Tuesday. Because doctors could not diagnose him earlier. If they had, or they had given us more options earlier, we might have taken him to the place where he might have get some treatment. Because I remember when I was looking for the doctor, we communicating with the Canadian doctors.

I found a guy in Canada who was living from 16 to 21, from the five years he was on [00:24:00] this electronic, heart in a backpack. So, 

Anna Jaworski: Yeah, that's what the LVAD is. Yeah, it fits in the backpack. It's amazing. I had a father who came on my program who talked about how he was on death's door and they gave him an LVAD as a bridge to transplant. He had been unable to walk across the room without feeling winded. And after he got the LVAD, he was able to walk his little girls to school. 

Oh, he made me cry. It was just amazing. He got a second chance at life and the LVAD made such a huge difference for him. But this is a problem when you don't have specialized hospitals. So talk to me about how you met Farhan and how you started working together.

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: After his demise my father and I always wanted to do something for the children living in Pakistan with such kind of diseases and with less resources available [00:25:00] within the country. 

Anna Jaworski: Mm-hmm. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: We started working around because our dream was to build a hospital... 

Anna Jaworski: Right 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: ...at the end, but obviously we have to take some kind of baby steps towards... 

Anna Jaworski: Sure.

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: ...the end. So we started working on it. We met many political leaders. We met many directors of the hospital. From there they introduced us to Ferran Lake. I used to call him uncle now. He's very dear to me. 

Anna Jaworski: Aw. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: So yeah. We both met him. He was very nice guy. He told about his story. He started this PCHF thing, before one year. Like we met him in 2014. He started everything on 2013. Yeah. 

Anna Jaworski: Wow. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: He started the idea, so... 

Anna Jaworski: mm-hmm. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Our energies, his energies, we met together and from there we took an initiative to build our specialized hospital just for the children with all the special necessities or resources we could afford to bring in this country [00:26:00] so that we can hope that not another Danial or not another Isha might die like that.

Anna Jaworski: Right. Absolutely. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: I know you've been working with the PCHF for about a decade already, which is hard to believe. Can you tell me a favorite memory involved with that organization?

I have many memories. If I remember the initial days, it was all the struggle of collecting donations from various people to donate surgeries... 

Anna Jaworski: right? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: ...of children who are coming from, interior Pakistan or they're coming from many underprivileged areas and it was very heart-wrenching to see their faces, how they are craving for their child to have a life, to have a better life. It was really heartwarming when all our efforts could sponsor that child to bring a smile on their parents' face. 

I t was really relieving for us because we see-- the child parents are almost similar to my parents, so I [00:27:00] could relate both of the parents. 

Anna Jaworski: You know firsthand what it is to have a child, and I'm sure now you can imagine how it was for your parents to lose Danial.

Yes, yes. 

Anna Jaworski: And you're saving children. That must be amazing. Have you actually gone up to the hospital that treats the children to meet the parents? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Not personally. I don't like to meet them. I do not really have the courage or the strength to meet them or see them in a very vulnerable state.

So I have the pictures of those children. I know who is coming, who's going out, but I did visit the hospital. I have seen seen kids with very heart-wrenching situation. Like there's a small, like six month child with a heart outside of his body. I went to this children hospital in Lahore. It was a very initial stages when we were collecting doctors to work on this, PCHF thing.

Anna Jaworski: Mm-hmm. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: So , I have [00:28:00] seen so many bad moments at that time. But now, the hospital the PCHF started, the Children Heart Hospital is finally going to start operating in April. Insha'Allah. 

Anna Jaworski: This April?

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes. Yes. This April. Yeah. 

Anna Jaworski: Goodness. I remember Fahan saying to me, "Will you come to Pakistan when we break ground?" so you've more than broken ground. If it's going to start in April! 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: It was five years back when we break the ground. It was five years back. It was really a nice memory. 

Anna Jaworski: Yes. That was during Covid. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah. Yes. During COVID. 

Anna Jaworski: Wow. Do you and your family actually reach out to people for the donations?

You were talking about how difficult the fundraising is, and I know that must be so difficult. I remember Farhan telling me at one point they had a million dollars and he said, but that's not anywhere close. We need so much more than that. But I was just amazed that he had gotten to a million dollars [00:29:00] already and he said, "We're going to do this."

He was just adamant that this was going to happen.

Have you personally reached out to people or your parents reached out to individuals, companies? How did you get the money to build the hospital? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Actually my father and I were working in this PCHF not my mother, because my mother could not really bear to see my brother's face again.

Anna Jaworski: I'm sure it's heartbreaking for her. Now you're a mom. I'm sure you can understand where it would be so difficult, but your dad and you took the bull by the horns and decided to move forward. So did you all visit different organizations or reach out to organizations to help with the funding for the hospital?

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: In the beginning, my father had an idea, which helped us to take a very good leap into fundraising. He initiated the idea of doing a bicycle ride awareness campaign. It was an awareness campaign, like a marathon. We set a point from the capital city and the marathon went [00:30:00] to sometimes 50 kilometers on a bicycle. It was a bicycle awareness campaign of the CHD children or PCHF. We had media coverage. We did this on a regular basis. Every summers we do this. 

Anna Jaworski: Yeah, I remember Farhan sharing photos of that.

And that was your dad's idea. That's amazing. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes. Yeah. 

Anna Jaworski: And that was because your brother was such an athlete. Is that one of the reasons he came up with that as an idea to raise money? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes. Yeah, you are right about that. He always finds something that relates to him, so he always came up the ideas that actually he might like it.

So in the end, it did a good job for the organization as well. So, yeah. Another one was a cultural event where every person who did handcrafts, they pull up their stalls. It's every spring season. People put up the stalls with all the handcraft stuff they're selling, like homemade cookies, homemade carpets or [00:31:00] whatever. So my father suggested why don't we fundraise to have this stage there in the Ha Ali event where we can just display our organization because people came from all over the groups.

So they might see, and we might be visible to them. 

Anna Jaworski: It's also another great way to help spread awareness of congenital heart defects. Yes. Because I know that's something here in the United States, we just don't talk about it enough. I feel like a broken record because I'm always talking about it, but I feel we need to have more of a light put on congenital heart defects.

So I love the fact that he had a stage where he could put a spotlight on the organization. Did you find that people would come up and say, "My child has a heart defect. Can you help me?" 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes. Yes. They do. They do come up. Not directly. Because they're so scared to discuss such matters. In our culture, it's really scary [00:32:00] for them what they do, they actually came up indirectly to us, like I know that person. So it works like that indirectly. 

Anna Jaworski: Wow. Okay. So it still was so critical for you to put that information out there because they wouldn't have even known to reach out to you indirectly if they didn't know you existed. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes. And at that time, our focus was more into the collecting donors.

So in that regard, we had get so many good donors. 

Anna Jaworski: Yeah. What do you think Danial would say about what you have achieved?

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: He must be very proud of it. 

Anna Jaworski: Yeah. Do you feel that he's kind of up there guiding you? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes. Yes, . We are trying to find the peace in this world.

He had already found his peace. But we are still struggling to find the peace. That's what he might be making fun up there that, "Yay, I'm at peace now you're [00:33:00] looking for it." He's like that. He always so funny. He always want to win in any situation he wants to win. So of course he must have said there, "I see. I won!"

Anna Jaworski: I love that. So his life, and then of course the life of Farhan's daughter has made a huge difference in the world for families that may not have had any hope. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah. But now they do have a hope in our country. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. They are building this hope element which is going to be live in April, Insha'Allah.

Anna Jaworski: I just love that. I cannot believe we're recording this in March and the hospital is opening in April. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yeah. 

Anna Jaworski: I'm just so excited. This is fantastic news. How many doctors will be there to help children with heart defects? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: I would like to share that as well. It is a project called Project by Danial. We have named that project [00:34:00] where we are training young doctors, young cardiologists, young surgeons to have this training where they can do the surgeries or treat children with such defects. Yeah, we are doing that from all underprivileged areas. We are collecting doctors and we are training them under this title Project by Danial.

Yeah, we are doing that as well for the hospital obviously. 

Anna Jaworski: That's amazing. Wow. I am just so honored to know you and to hear this story and delighted to know that children in Pakistan now do not have to leave the country if they need care. Is the hospital in Lahore? 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Yes, it's in Lahore.

Anna Jaworski: Yeah, that's what I thought Farhan had told me where it would be located. Thank you so much, Ana, for coming on the program today. 

Ana Tanveer Abdullah: Thank you so much for having me and giving me this time to share my story.

Anna Jaworski: Before we go, I want to extend a special thank you to today's producer, Heart Warrior Nauman [00:35:00] Shahid. Thanks to Nauman's dedication, I'm thrilled to share that later Heart to Heart with Anna will release its very first episode in Urdu.

Nauman will serve as guest hosts interviewing Ana Tanveer Abdullah so that families in Pakistan can hear Ana's story in their own language. Nauman brings his unique perspective to the interview given he was born in Pakistan with a heart defect himself. It's a meaningful step in our mission to bring hope and connection to heart families around the world, no matter what language they speak.

Today's episode has been a celebration of compassion, resilience, and the power of community. We've honored the legacy of Ann Marie Karl, learned about the lifesaving missions of Dr. William Novick and the Global Cardiac Alliance, and heard how Ana Tanveer Abdullah, her father, and Farhan Ahmad are transforming care for children with congenital heart defects in Pakistan. [00:36:00] If you feel inspired by any of these stories, I encourage you to support the cause that speaks to your heart. Whether that's Hearts Unite the Globe, Heart for Danial, or Global Cardiac Alliance.

Every contribution helps bring hope and healing to families who need it most. You'll find links to all of these organizations in show notes for today's episode. Thank you for joining us. And remember my friends, you are not alone.

 Conclusion: Thank you again for joining us this week. We hope you have become inspired and empowered to become an advocate for the congenital heart community. "Heart to Heart with Anna," with your host, Anna Jaworski can be heard at any time wherever you get your podcasts. A new [00:54:00] episode is released every Tuesday from noon Eastern time.