The Mater Heartrun: Cardiac Program Beneficiaries

DENZEL MUCHAI NDIRANGU

5-months-old Denzel is the 1^st and only child of his young parents.

They hail from Muranga but reside in Eastleigh in Nairobi.

His father does casual jobs while his mother is a housewife.

Denzel was born with a hole in the heart and has been on follow up at Kenyatta National Hospital.  Surgery was recommended but the waiting list was quite long.  Meanwhile the lung pressures were rising and the parents came to seek assistance from Mater.

The child underwent full cardiac assessment at Mater, where the diagnosis was confirmed, and a cardiac catheterization recommended to assess lung pressures to determine operability.

The procedure was carried on successfully on 17^th September 2009 and the lung pressures found acceptable.

Surgery was carried out on 28^th September 2009 and Denzel made slow but steady progress in Intensive Care and High Dependency Units. He was transferred to the ward on 4^th October 2009 where he developed some slight complications but was treated and was well enough to go home.

He was finally discharged on 10^th October 2009 in stable condition, on medication and appointment given.

The family contributed Kshs. 170,000/= for both procedures.

FAITH SAMANTHA NYAMARI 

Faith is an only child of her parents. She is a pre-school pupil at Chrisco Educational School in Kibera Estate, Nairobi. They hail from Kisii in Nyanza District.

Her father and mother are in business.

Faith was born with a heart defect which was diagnosed at Kenyatta Hospital.  Surgery was recommended but the waiting list was too long and 2 years down the line, they still had no chance to be operated.

They were referred to Mater in November 2008 by a doctor who was attending to them at Kenyatta National Hospital.

Faith had a full cardiac assessment where she was found to have four defects that needed to be corrected.

Counseling was done and the co-funding concept was explained to the family.  They organized a funds drive.

In March 2009, they were ready financially after raising Kshs. 100,000/=. 

Surgery was scheduled and carried out on 15^th April 2009.  Faith made good progress both the Intensive Care/High Dependency Units and was transferred to the general ward, and then home on 23^rd April 2009.

An echo that was done immediately after surgery and revealed a residue of one of the defects meaning there was still some leakage. Faith underwent a second procedure on 9^th May 2009 to close the leakage. This time however it was done in the cardiac laboratory without operation and Faith was released to go home after 24 hours.

Faith would like to become a doctor in future.

ABDI FARAH YARROW

10-month-old Abdi is the youngest in a family of 5 siblings. His father is a farmer while his mother is a housewife. 

He is said to have been well in the first 4 months of life, but in January this year he was reported to be crying excessively, and had difficulty in breathing.  A doctor at Kenyatta National Hospital diagnosed a narrow pulmonary valve and advised them to come to The Mater to have the valve widened in the cath-lab by the balloon procedure.

Abdi’s parents managed to raise Kshs.80,000/= and he successfully underwent Pulmonary Balloon Valvotomy on 16^th April 2009. He made good progress in the High Dependency Unit and was transferred to the ward after one day and home on the third day.

 His parents were pleased beyond words, as they were afraid that services for this kind of ailment were not available in the country.

Heart Health Fun Facts And Tips

Here are some simple tips and fun facts to get started on building and maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle. Heart ultrasound is a proven, safe and fast way your doctor can evaluate your heart's health.


Be heart SMART

-- Stop smoking! It's one of the best things you can do for your heart - not to mention the rest of your body.

-- Maintain a healthy weight. Eat a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

-- Activity is important. Get regular exercise to strengthen your heart.

-- Reduce stress. Life's too short to worry about everything.

-- Talk to your doctor. He/she is your partner in building and maintaining a healthy heart.

What Does Heart Ultrasound Do?

-- Sees the structure of your heart and checks for problems
-- Examines how blood flows through your heart
-- Evaluates your heart before major surgery
-- Measures the size and thickness of your heart and its chambers
-- Yields information on the valves of your heart
-- Helps show if you have a heart murmur
-- Explores problems with the heart muscle
-- Assesses damage to your heart after a heart attack
-- Rules out abnormalities in your heart
-- Tests your heart's response to exercise

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) is a professional non- profit organization of physicians, cardiac sonographers, nurses and scientists involved in echocardiography, the use of ultrasound to image the heart and cardiovascular system. These heart and circulation specialists are dedicated to improving their patients' health and quality of life. The organization was founded in 1975 and has more than 11,000 members nationally and internationally.

American Society of Echocardiography

http://www.SeeMyHeart.org

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/63008.php

The Mater Hospital: Cardiac Program

About the Mater Cardiac Program

Before the 1990s, very little cardiac work was being done in Kenya due to scarcity of trained personnel and the high cost of surgery (Heart surgery costs Kshs 500,000 and is out of reach for many Kenyans). Upon this realization The Mater Hospital- Kenya set up a Cardiac Programme in 1995.

The Programme is positioned to cater for the needs of children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, suffering from both congenital and acquired heart disease. Sadly, 50% of children aged between 4 and 8 years seen at the Cardiology Clinics suffer from rheumatic heart disease, subsequent to rheumatic fever that originated from a simple sore throat. 

More than 1,700 children have benefitted from surgery and some of their stories and profiles are in this blog (past beneficiaries).

There are many encouraging outcomes from this program, the highlights being the transformation we see in many past beneficiaries. One beneficiary, Mutwiri Rarama is currently studying Medicine at the University of Nairobi and wishes to specialise in Cardiology. Another beneficiary, Edith Muthoni, is a Nursing Student at the Catherine McAuley School at The Mater Hospital.

How Many Children Need Procedures in Kenya

Globally, 1% of children are born with congenital heart defects. In Kenya, a further 1% develop Rheumatic Heart Disease, mainly in the slums and rural areas where poverty levels are high. This means that every year, more than 10,000 children need heart treatment.

The Mater Hospital corrects an average of 200 paediatric heart defects every year.

The other centre offering this service on a similar scale in Kenya is Kenyatta National Hospital.

Many children therefore succumb before accessing care.

 

The Mater Heartrun:

Help us to touch a child's heart.

Become a friend of The Mater HeartRun and Support us today. 

You can also Join our Blood Donors Group, for details follow this link on service 8.

The Mater Heart Run Past Beneficiaries:

Some of our past beneficiaries and the inspiring stories:

REHEMA MWAURA

10-year-old Rehema is the 1^st born in a family of 4 children.  She attends Methodist Academy Primary School in Mombasa and is in class 3.  She hails from Kinango District in Coast Province. 

Her parents are divorced and Rehema currently stays with an aunt in Kinango.  Her father is a mechanic while her mother does casual jobs to earn a living.

Rehema was diagnosed with a heart problem referred to as PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosis) in February 2008 when she came for full cardiac evaluation at Mater.  This is the duct that connected her circulation to her mother’s before she was born.  It ought to have closed at birth but somehow remained open, causing a mix-up of pure and impure blood. 

Rehema’s condition was discussed by a joint team of cardiac doctors who recommended diagnostic catheterization which was carried out on 6^th May 2008.  Rehema continued with clinics with a hope of being reviewed by visiting doctors from overseas.

Luckily, she underwent surgery on 10^th of May 2009 by a team from India.  She made good progress and was discharged home on 15^th May 2009 in stable condition.

Compassion International undertook to pay Kshs.150,000/= as a family contribution for Rehema.

ANASTASIA KAVENGI MBATHA

Anastasia is 16 years old and the 5^th born in a family of 5 siblings. She is a class 8 pupil at Ilengi primary school, Maluuma location, Kitui District.

Her father is deceased. Her mother is a housewife who the family depends on for their livelihood.

Anastasia has been unwell for 6 years and has been attending the national hospital for treatment.  She has been unable to access surgery due to the long waiting list at the hospital and also due to lack of finances.

Her uncle who resides in Nairobi told them about the Mater Heart Program. 

She was brought to the cardiac clinic early 2009 where she underwent a full cardiac evaluation. Her case was then discussed at a joint cardiac presentation and it was agreed that she be operated by the visiting doctor from the U.K.

She underwent open-heart surgery on 17^th July 2009 when her mitral valve was successfully repaired.  She made good progress both in Intensive Care Unit and the ward. 

She was discharged home in a stable condition on 29^th July 2009 to be followed up at the clinic.  She has since been reviewed at the clinic and is making good progress.

She aspires to be a nurse.

MOSES MACHARIA WAIRIMU

2-year-old Moses is an only child of his teenage mother, who is an orphan.  They hail from Nyeri where they stay with relatives.

Moses has been ill since birth and a heart defect was diagnosed at a Nyeri Hospital from where they were referred to Kenyatta National Hospital.

A well-wisher referred his mum to Mater where she met the cost of a full evaluation which enabled an accurate diagnosis to be made. Moses was found to have a hole in the heart. Surgery was recommended to close the hole.

His mother was counseled and co-funding concept explained to her and the well-wisher.  The well-wisher contributed Kshs.100,000/= towards the surgery which was successfully carried out on 29^th July 2009.

Moses made slow but steady recovery and was discharged home on 10^th August 2009.