Her chest caved in with every breath but her story would rise on the strength of collective kindness.
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (25 July 2025) – When baby Kendreya Pillay was born in Chatsworth, Durban, her parents imagined the usual newborn chaos… nappies, sleepless nights and first smiles. But they weren’t prepared for what came next. Not the way her chest heaved with every breath. Not the exhaustion that seemed to pull at her tiny body with every movement.
“Her stomach would sink with every breath,” her father Kevin recalls. “Like her little body was working overtime just to breathe.”
At first, it was worry. Then hospital appointments. Then more tests. Kevin worked night shifts, driving his wife Paroosha and baby Kendreya to doctors, sleeping in the car while they waited. And finally, the diagnosis no parent wants to hear… a severe heart defect. The medical name was Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD), a condition where a large hole at the centre of the heart allows oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood to mix. It made every breath harder, every feed exhausting and every day critical.
Time was slipping away.
Surgery was meant to happen at six months. But delays in the public system meant no clear date, no clear path forward, only a growing fear as Kendreya’s health worsened.
“After eight or nine months, surgery becomes much riskier,” Kevin says quietly. “We were running out of time.”
That’s when they found a lifeline. A message of hope. Unexpected but very real.
“We were searching for help, for anyone who could guide us,” Paroosha explains. “Then I found the Young Hearts Africa Foundation. It seemed too good to be true. We were scared it might be a scam. But they never asked for money, only medical records.”
Founded by cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Wilhelm Lichtenberg, Young Hearts Africa exists for this exact moment… to help children with life-threatening heart conditions get the care they so desperately need, before it’s too late.
Since launching in 2023, they’ve helped 30 children. Kendreya became number 31.
“Babies with AVSD often experience rapid breathing, difficulty feeding, and poor weight gain,” Dr Lichtenberg explains. “If left untreated, the damage to the lungs can become permanent. Early repair is critical. It gives them a real chance at life.”
With the clock ticking, Dr Lichtenberg moved fast, reaching out to Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital and the Netcare Foundation. And the response was immediate. From heart surgeon Dr Susan Vosloo, to anaesthetist Dr Marie Bosman, Pathcare, Morton & Partners, Medtronic, Cossni Medical… everyone stepped up.
“When we heard about Baby Kendreya’s case, we knew we had to help,” says Mande Toubkin from the Netcare Foundation. “These surgeries are resource-heavy and complex. But they matter. They’re life-changing.”
And someone else joined too, Wings and Wishes, a charity dedicated to helping children reach the medical care they need, took care of the family’s flights from Durban to Cape Town. Every step of the journey was supported by someone saying, “We’ve got you.”
The surgery was a success. And the relief was indescribable.
“She has healed so quickly,” says Paroosha. “She’s curious about everything, full of energy. It’s like watching a miracle unfold.”
The parents speak with overwhelming gratitude for the ICU nurses who whispered reassurance in dark moments, for the doctors who held their child’s future in their hands and for the kindness they were shown at every turn.
“Dr Lichtenberg and Dr Vosloo are our heroes. They gave us back our daughter’s future,” says Kevin. “We can never thank them – and everyone who helped – enough.”
Today, back home in Durban, Kendreya is clapping, smiling, and breathing easily. Her story is one of hope rekindled. A reminder that even when the odds feel impossible, there are people out there who care, strangers who become family, doctors who become heroes, foundations that give children the chance to grow up.
And sometimes, the smallest heart can remind us all how powerful kindness can be.
To help more children like Kendreya, visit www.youngheartsafrica.org.
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