Five Little Hearts Healed

Several weeks ago, five little heart patients and their parents traveled to India for their chance to receive life-saving cardiac surgery unavailable to them in Uganda. After settling in and having pre-surgery testing and consultations with the surgeons, the first child to go for surgery was Ruthie.

After last-minute snuggles with her stuffed animal and her mom, Ruthie was off to the operating room.

Five hours later, her surgery was complete, and she was moved to ICU for recovery. When Ruthie’s mom heard that the surgery was successful, she danced for joy!

Next to go was our oldest child, Sharon. Sharon has Down Syndrome and made this big journey from Uganda to India with her loving and protective dad.

Sharon’s surgery was also a success, and she recovered nicely with her stuffed animal, blanket, and hat from home to keep her warm.

Fun-loving Sharon made lots of friends on the hospital ward during her recovery.

We think they may have been a wee bit sad to see her return to the apartment!

Baby Emmalyn was the third heart patient to undergo surgery. Doctors told us that her heart defect was quite complex and high-risk, but her family chose to move forward in hope.

Emmalyn’s surgery took 10 long hours and was very complicated, but we’re thrilled to report that her repair was successful. Her chest had to remain open for several days in the ICU, but the surgeons were able to close it without incident and she continues to recover well.

Once the girls were healed and recovering, it was the boys’ turn.

Cole and Ruthie have become best buddies during this trip. They hung out in the hospital in matching pajamas while all the necessary tests were done.

Just today, Cole had his surgery and came through with flying colors! He is still recovering in the ICU but doctors feel confident that his heart repair was a success.

Baby Jett arrived at Naryana hospital sporting a hot pink bathrobe. (If you’re going to be in the hospital, why not be cozy AND stylish?)

Jett also had surgery this morning and is currently recovering well. We can’t wait to see him out of the ICU soon.

Thank you so much for your continued thoughts and prayers for a safe and speedy recovery for all five of these little heart warriors. We could not be more grateful to our LWB community for giving them this chance to live longer and healthier lives.

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