“I would like to get better so I can go to school and play with my friends,” says Olga, who was born with a murmur and a hole in her heart. She has grown slower than other children and has a hard time playing because she gets tired so easily, making it hard for her to make friends. Because of her symptoms, she often has to miss school, and her mother has to stay at home to take care of her.
Our medical partner in Guatemala, Wuqu’ Kawaq, says that “this condition is life-threatening in the long-term and needs to be operated on to give her the chance to live a normal life.” Olga’s parents do not have the resources to be able to afford the congenital heart surgery their daughter needs to improve her quality of life, and prevent fatal heart failure in the future.
For $1,481, Olga will receive the treatment needed to fix the hole in her heart. She is excited to be independent, go to school and play with friends, and to no longer be short of breath and in pain.