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This story is part of William Osler Health System’s (Osler) Doctors Making a Difference campaign featuring Osler doctors who are going beyond to improve our community’s health.
Deepika Sharma can’t imagine her seven-year-old daughter Anaya’s life without the compassionate care and knowledge of Dr. Sangeet Kathuria. Anaya was born at 32 weeks at Brampton Civic Hospital and spent her earliest days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where she was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Dr. Kathuria, a dedicated paediatrician and neonatologist, who is also Osler’s Clinical Lead for the NICU, was the one who shared this life-changing news with the family.
“It came as a shock at the time because there was no indication of Down syndrome before she was born,” said Deepika, who was relieved when Dr. Kathuria explained the diagnosis in her native language, helping her and her husband better understand their daughter’s condition, the implications and the best ways to support her. “I speak English, but there are times when it’s hard to fully understand the details and express myself, particularly under stressful circumstances.”
Dr. Kathuria, who speaks both Punjabi and Hindi, worked as a neonatologist and paediatrician in his native India before arriving in St. John’s, Newfoundland in 2003. While there, he wrote his exams to become a licensed physician in Canada, and worked as a clinical associate in paediatric surgery at Janeway Children’s Hospital in St. John’s, eventually landing a paediatric residency at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto in 2005.
“I applied for my immigration status at that time, which made it possible for me to bring my wife and four-year-old daughter to Canada, after a year and a half apart,” said Dr. Kathuria. When his wife earned a family medicine residency at a hospital in London, Ontario in 2008, he transferred to St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, to pursue his Fellowship. After gaining diverse experience through locum positions in 12 hospitals across Canada, his career path ultimately led him to Osler in 2011, where he says he immediately felt at home in the community.
“You really have to have strong skills to work here and the ability to multi-task, given the patient volumes and complexity of cases,” said Dr. Kathuria. His commitment to both hospital and community-based practice allows him to continue caring for young patients with complex needs, like Anaya, even after they are discharged from the NICU. He and Dr. Chintan Shah, a paediatric neurologist, co-founded the Bovaird Pediatric Clinic in 2017 to further support these children and their families in the community.
“Dr. Kathuria has been such a wonderful support for Anaya,” said Deepika, noting that her daughter, who was also diagnosed with Autism and experienced infantile spasms as a baby, is highly susceptible to cold and flu infections, which have sometimes made her critically ill. “He has been there for her every time. When she’s sick and Dr. Kathuria is caring for her, it gives me peace of mind knowing she is in great hands.”
Dr. Kathuria is particularly proud of the dedicated multidisciplinary team he works with in the Women’s and Children’s program at Osler’s Brampton Civic Hospital and Etobicoke General Hospital. He notes that many team members were involved in Anaya’s care during her three-week stay in the NICU, underscoring the collaborative effort behind her early care.
“We have excellent nurses, occupational therapists, social workers and dietitians, as well as a nurse practitioner, all of whom provide exceptional support to parents and sick babies in our NICUs. We also have every paediatric sub-specialty available at Osler to support infants and children with special needs, including neonatologists, nephrologists (kidney), cardiologists (heart), gastroenterologists, respirologists (lungs), pediatric neonatologists, rheumatologists (muscles, joints and bones), and endocrinologists (hormones, diseases of glands), and work closely with excellent paediatric partners in the community to ensure comprehensive care.”
The Osler team stays busy, caring for very high number of children and a very busy NICU unit at both hospitals.
“I love what I do and the team that I work with both in the hospital and in the community. Children like Anaya and parents like her mom, who is so dedicated to her daughter’s care, make every day a rewarding one for me. I hope to keep doing what I do for many, many years.”
Anaya, who loves Peppa Pig, playing on the swings and slide at the park, and spending time with her peers in school, gives Deepika many reasons to smile every day.
“After a busy day at work, I come home to that irresistible smile of hers and it just makes my day,” said Deepika. “I am so grateful to Dr. Kathuria, who has been Anaya’s saviour so many times over the years. He is such a blessing for all of us.”
Read about more Osler doctors making a difference.
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