Jordan - Cardiac mission - 4 stories
Jordan – Cardiac Mission – 23rd to 29th September
9 doctors coming from Coimbra, Portugal, led by Dr Manuel Jose Antunes, President of Cadeia da Esperança, La Chaîne de l’Espoir in Portugal.
Out of the 20 children who received pre-operative consultation, 12 children received heart surgery at Al-Gardens Hospital.
This new cardiac mission is funded by the European Union - Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO).
Here are 4 stories…
Ritaj
She is 2 years old, 10kg, Syrian child, lives in a caravan in Zaatari Camp with all her family consisted of 10 people: her 2 parents and 6 sisters and 1 brother. 2 of her sisters had suffered of congenital heart diseases and have received open heart surgery. They are diagnosed with mental retardation too.
The family have no source of income except the food vouchers from WFP (World Food Programme). The family is from Dara’a and left Syria in 2013 because of the general violence in their province (bombs and shootings).
Ritaj was born in Jordan in Zaatari Girls and Women’s Hospital. The pregnancy and delivery of her mother went well but Ritaj had jaundice and spent 4 days in the hospital. At 3 months old, Ritaj had a flu and her mother took her at Zaatari hospital where heart disease has been detected by Dr Fouad at Zaatari hospital.
She has been sent to Dr Imad – Cardiologist for La Chaîne de l’Espoir and has been diagnosed with a congenital heart disease called PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus)
She received surgery on the 24th of September 2018 at Al-Gardens Hospital in Amman during the cardiac mission of Dr. Manuel Jose Antunes and Dr. David Prieto La Plaza. The surgery has been a success and Ritaj recovered very quickly. She has been discharged on September 27th.
Khadija
She is 7months old, 7kg, Syrian child who lived in Zaatari Camp with her family consisted of 5 people: her 2 parents and 2 sisters. The mother had 9 deliveries but only 3 children survived.
The family have no source of income except the food vouchers from WFP. They left Dara’a in Syria on October 2013 because of the general violence in their province (bombs and shootings). Khadija was born in Jordan at Emirati Hospital with imperforate anus.
At 7 months, while she received surgery for her anus, a congenital heart disease has been detected. She had been referred to La Chaîne de l’Espoir through the Emirati Hospital and diagnosed with a congenital heart disease called Tetralogy Of Fallot.
She received surgery on the 25th of September 2018 at Al-gardens Hospital in Amman during the cardiac mission of Dr. Manuel Jose Antunes and Dr. David Prieto La Plaza. The surgery has been a success and Ritaj recovered very quickly and will be discharged on September 27th after 2 days in the Intensive Care Unit.
Masa
She is 1 year and 4 months old, 7 kg, Jordanian child who lives in Amman with her 2 parents, Syrian mother and Jordanian father. The family have small income, only the father works part-time in coffee kiosk in Amman Streets.
At her birth, she has been diagnosed with a congenital heart disease called ASD (atrial septal defect) and referred to La Chaîne de l’Espoir thanks to the social networks. She received surgery on the 25th of September 2018 at Al Gardens Hospital in Amman during the cardiac mission of Dr. Manuel Jose Antunes and Dr. David Prieto La Plaza.
The surgery has been a success and Masa recovered very quickly and will be discharged after 2 days in Intensive Care Unit.
Faisal
He is 7 years old, 17kg, Syrian child, lives in Al Salt in the Center of Jordan with all his family consisted of 6 people. He lives with his 2 parents, his 2 grandparents and one brother. The family has low income and receives the food vouchers from WFP. The father is builder.
Faisal was born at home in Syria during the war. After 4 days, he becomes sick and congenital heart disease has been diagnosed.
The family who lived in Dara’a, left Syria in May 2013 because all the roads were closed between the cities and they couldn’t find healthcare for Faisal. At 1-year-old, he received a first open heart surgery. At 6 years old, after an infection, he has been referred to La Chaîne de l’Espoir thanks to the social network. He has been diagnosed with a congenital heart disease called VSD (ventricular septal defect) Endocarditis.
He received surgery on the 27th of September 2018 at Al garden’s Hospital in Amman during the cardiac mission of Dr. Manuel Jose Antunes and Dr. David Prieto La Plaza.
The surgery has been a success and Faisal recovered very quickly and will discharged in about two days.
ECHO FUNDING
This mission is the continuation of the work carried out by La Chaîne over the last six years in Jordan to help out the most vulnerable Jordanian and refugee children. Hundreds of children have thus received heart and orthopaedic surgery with the help of the financing of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
