Healing Children's Hearts in Nicaragua

January set a milestone of achievement for the local team of talented doctors and nurses who are now working on their own saving lives of Nicaragua's babies and children in need of surgery on their young hearts.  14 operations were performed by the local team without the supervision of visiting teams, evidencing great progress, and a giant leap toward independent sustainability at our new Heart Center in Managua.  This progress is proof-positive that the mission model of Surgeons of Hope works and works well.

Also in January, a visiting team from Belgium spent a week at our Pediatric Heart Center, operating on an additional 10 children and working with their colleagues on the local team.  Led by Dr. Katrien, pictured in an accompanying photo, the team of 16 specialists from the best children's hospitals in Belgium kept to an exhausting schedule.   Their fluency in Spanish facilitated easy communication with the local team.

Speaking of the dedication of Dr. Katrien, Surgeons of Hope Executive Director Charles-Edouard described her as a "true humanitarian, an archetype of what we look for."  He noted that she speaks numerous languages fluently including Spanish, and that she is able to speak effectively with the medical team and local government officials to get things done on behalf of the Heart Center.

At 15 years of age, Heynes received desperately-needed surgery in January from the Belgian team who used his medical situation as a valuable teaching surgery for the local team.  He had needed surgery for a long time.  Each year that passed without help for his condition made his condition that much worse, but being from a small town, Las Cuchillas, near Lake Nicaragua, no help was possible.  Then his parents, Maria and Antonio, struggling to raise their family on a small farm plot, learned of the work being done by Surgeons of Hope at our new Heart Center in Managua.  Heynes was selected for open-heart surgery at the hands of the Belgian team.  He received what is called a "Ross Procedure" to correct a situation where his heart vessels were too small, leading to abnormally high blood pressure, and a stressed heart which had had to work harder and harder to keep him alive.  His heart was in trouble.  

Now, Heynes' life is returned to the normalcy that is usual for a 15 year old.  Think of the gift that this surgery represents to the family and their lives.  Clearly, this is what we do, but we do it with the help of our GlobalGiving donors.  You make our program work and work well.  For all of that, and more, we thank you for helping us to help the children for whom we, and you, and their only hope.

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