Archives for February 2015

Wilgrens is a 15-year-old boy, who has had anything but an easy life. When Wilgrens was 7 years old, he was hit by a motorcycle, and during his hospitalization, he had an X-ray that showed a problem with his heart. His childhood was later complicated by fevers and a six-month hospitalization for tuberculosis.

He often reported getting short of breath easily when walking and running, and sometimes, he would get dizzy. He would take himself to the hospital, where he was told, “you have a heart problem,” but no one would give him medication to treat the problem. Occasionally, the hospital would give him pain medication for his painful breathing.

As if all this was not enough, Wilgrens’ father died from tuberculosis, and his mother was killed in the earthquake of 2010. At the age of 12, he was an orphan. His sister told him he could not live with her because she doubted her capability to care for him with his heart condition. So, he found himself living in a tent city with his sister-in-law in what has been called the “worst city in the world” and the “poorest of the poor” in Cité Soley, Haiti.

Through word of mouth, Wilgrens was put in contact with CHADASHA, an organization that partners with ICHF to help Haitian children receive treatment for heart disease. In May of 2013, Wilgrens, along with his sister-in-law, made the eight-hour journey by bus from Port-au–Prince, Haiti, to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was evaluated by the ICHF cardiologist and diagnosed with severe mitral stenosis secondary to rheumatic fever and was told he would need surgery to repair the valve

Two months later, ICHF had a surgical mission trip to Santiago, Dominican Republic. Wilgrens made the journey back to Dominican Republic, and the local surgeon in Santiago, with assistance from the ICHF surgical team, replaced Wilgrens’ mitral valve.

Wilgrens returned to Haiti with his new heart valve, but fortunately, he is no longer living in Cité Soley.  He has a safe home in one of the orphanages, has three meals a day and has access to medication. Staff members at the orphanage say that he is a hard worker, a smart young man and a great mentor to the younger children.

Rood Kerry was diagnosed with a heart defect at 2 months of age when his mother, Kerline, took him to the hospital with “rapid breathing.”  She said she knew something was wrong because along with breathing quickly, he did not eat very well and seemed to have stunted growth.

Over a period of a year and half, Kerline took her son to 14 different hospitals and clinics, searching for an answer. Rood had X-rays, EKGs, echocardiograms, blood work, and received many different medications.

She eventually received a diagnosis for her son; however, no one could offer a solution to the problem. She was told, “He has a hole in his heart, but we cannot fix it. He will not live long without surgery.” She was referred from hospital to hospital in towns all over Haiti, and even one in the Dominican Republic, but no one could perform the surgery he needed to give him a normal, healthy life.

Being the determined woman she was and searching for any hope for her son, Kerline eventually found the help she was looking for. With the help from Haiti Cardiac Alliance, Rood was brought to an ICHF surgical mission trip in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

When asked how she felt when she heard he would finally receive the life-saving surgery her son needed, Kerline said, “Wow! I felt sad, but I let them do what they needed to do. I was also relieved that I received the answer I had been looking for. And I thank God for that.” The sadness, she explained, was because “surgery is not easy, and I heard only 30 percent of people survive surgery.”

Rood had surgery to repair a ventricular septal defect, or VSD. He did exceptionally well and was discharged from the ICU the following day and went home two days later. His mother was by his side the entire time. After years of constantly traveling across the island searching for an answer, they returned to their extended family in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti.

Kerline’s wish for Rood is that he will start developing and eating better. To the team that made this possible, she wanted to say,

“Thank you, because without you, it would not be possible. I hope you continue to do this work because it is a good work, and you are a blessing from God.”