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Managua, Nicaragua (April 9 - 23, 2002)
April 9/Surgical Day #2
ICHF team is currently operating at the Hospital Infantil in Managua. This is the seventh mission to the capital of Nicaragua. During the next two weeks, the team will operate on about 20 children with life-threatening cardiac defects. The team operated on Laura and Gerthyn yesterday and Maria and Lenin today. Four countries are represented among this team's members: USA, Peru, Croatia, and Nicaragua. Teammates For Kids Foundation, founded by country music singer Garth Brooks, is funding this mission through a generous $15,000 grant.
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April 10/Surgical Day #3
Six children have now received open-heart surgery on this Nicaragua mission. Laura, Gerthyn and Maria are all doing very well out of the ICU. Lenin is doing very well also. We are going to watch him an extra day in the ICU for precautionary reasons because of the degree of his pre-surgical heart disease. He will be transferred out with the other three children in the morning. This morning, the team operated on Heyner, a 2 year old boy with severe aortic stenosis. He did very well and is resting comfortably in the ICU with his mother. In the afternoon, we operated on Yadelin, a 3 year old girl with tetralogy of Fallot. She also did very well and is sleeping in the ICU. Both children are stable. Tomorrow, we will begin the day by operating on Mariangeles, a 6 month old girl with with a very complex and severe form of congenital heart disease, total anomalous pulmonary veins. Mariangeles is currently very sick and this operation and the postoperative care will be challenging.
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April 16/Surgical Day #8
We have now operated on 15 children. In the second week of this Nicaraguan mission, the ICHF team is fatigued from long hours in the operating room and intensive care unit, however spirits are buoyed by the happy parents and children. On Saturday, we operated on Maria, a 2 1/2 year old girl from El Salvador. Unable to receive surgical care in their native country, Maria's mother, Nancy, brought Maria to Managua when she heard of the ICHF team's arrival. Preoperatively, Nancy expressed feelings of anxiety and worry. These feelings have yielded to those of relief and happiness following her daughter's successful surgery.
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April 29
The 12-member ICHF team returned from Managua last week. During this two-week mission, 18 children received life-saving open-heart surgery. On the last surgical day, a party was hosted for these children. Heartfelt thanks goes out to Garth Brooks' Teammates For Kids Foundation, Project Open Heart, and other financial supporters who made this trip possible. These eighteen children now look forward to happy and active lives thanks to your support.
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