#LOCKDOWN HEROES

A guardian angel for pregnant women, on call round-the-clock

Sindhu.Kannan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:08.04.2020

It was 2am on Monday when Leo Akashraj received a call informing him that the woman he had dropped at a hospital had delivered a boy. Happiness knew no bounds for the 23-year-old now seen as a guardian angel for many, especially pregnant women.

The engineer, an Avadi resident who runs Pretty Lil Hearts, an NGO, receives no less than 30 calls a day and has in the past 14 days helped at least 51 women. Twenty nine of them have delivered babies.

He keeps himself and his cars – a Swift and a WagonR - ready allthetimefor an emergency. Leo is aware of the need to maintain social distancing and takes only very few people apart from a paramedic to ensure swift service.

Police tasked with enforcing prohibitory orders also don’t stop him. “They grant us permission to leave immediately on seeing the pregnant women. Moreover since it is my own car they do not question me,” says Leo.

Sometimes he receives frantic calls at midnight. “I rush to help, no matter how far the caller is from my residence,” he says, adding that he is being supported by his friend Benny.

Despite the odd hours, Leo feels happy when the couple he has taken to hospital call him up later and request him to name their child. “I feel elated,” he says.

On Monday, he recalls, he was called to take a woman to a hospital. “It was not her due date but still, the doctors praised me for reaching the hospital on time, as the woman had to be operated and the child was born within 15 minutes of us reaching there,” he says.

Jasmine of West Mogappair, the beneficiary, says they came to know of Leo from the internet. “It was a blessing for us. His service is incomparable especially during lockdown.”

Leo, who has decided to quarantine himself from his parents as he has been visiting hospitals regularly, can be reached on 9600432255/ 7358305635.

Leo Akashraj