Dehradun, Dec. 31 -- Three years ago, when Gudiya (name changed) was born, there were no celebrations in the family. The reason was she had no food pipe (esophagus) and, therefore, she could not be fed milk. She even could not swallow her saliva. Medical jargon calls this condition 'Esophageal Atresia'. Her family immediately brought her to Himalayan Hospital, Jolly Grant. There was a real risk of her developing pneumonia as well, as her saliva could go into her lungs. She was therefore operated on immediately. In the neck, a passage was made for her saliva to come out, while a thin tube was put inside her stomach by another operation at the same time. This was used to give her milk and medications and, later on, other nutrition. Preparat...