Saturday was the final day of cases for the combines World Children’s Initiative and Uganda Heart Institute cardiac catheterization teams. This was the day set aside to perform the most technically challenging procedures in the cath lab. These patients had pulmonary valve stenosis. This is a condition where the valve in the heart that separates the right side of the heart from the large blood vessel that carries blood to the lungs is too tight. The pulmonary valvuloplasty procedure corrects this problem immediately and completely with a minimally invasive treatment.
Graham was our youngest patient of the week at 5 months.
This was also the second day of follow-up visits for previous patients. We were able to catch up with Innocent who had both a diagnostic catheterization with the WCI/UHI team and a surgical correction of his pulmonary valve stenosis in 2013. He has been doing quite well in terms of his heart function since his procedures last year. He is currently recovering from leg surgery done in December which his mother says is the main thing slowing him down.
Innocent waiting for his follow-up cardiology visit.
The other patient who was able to make it to UHI on Saturday was Gift. She is the patient who inspired the collaboration between WCI and Mulago Hospital. She came to DC in 2010 for repair of a hole in her heart and closure of a patent ductus arteriosus (a residual blood vessel connecting the two large vessels carrying blood from the heart). She is a joyful, playful little girl. Her mother says she had been trying to get back to the USA ever since her surgery. When she found out our team was leaving Sunday, she inquired how she might be included in the group. Now that her heart is functioning properly, she would like to see how hard she can play in our nation’s capital.
Gift with Dr. Ratnayaka
The final former patient update we got was by way of a serendipitous encounter at dinner that night. I happened to be wearing my WCI T-shirt and a woman approached me while I was washing my hands in the restroom. She immediately recognized the WCI logo and thanked me and the organization for all the work we do for the children of Uganda. She informed me she is the mother of Aron Kawesi. He is a little boy who had a diagnostic catheterization in 2013 to help him get placed for the corrective surgery he needs on his heart. His mother says she was told he needs to see the type of surgical specialist that cannot now be found in Uganda. He is maintaining OK but he is still ill and gets tired quickly. Talking to her was such an inspiration to me. She was not angry that her child was born with a heart defect in a country where the resources are scarce. She was faithful that her son would be taken care of and extremely grateful for all the medical care he had received to this point. It was a reminder of why WCI is doing what we do to help the Uganda Heart Institute become a center for excellence in cardiac care in east Africa.
Aron Kawesi in 2013
