"I am very excited for the surgery, and not scared at all," shares 12-year-old Dashka. "I am looking forward to it!"
Dashka is a girl from Haiti who enjoys going to school, and watching soccer and tennis on television. She lives in Haiti with her mother, father, and two younger brothers.
"Dashka was born with a cardiac condition called pulmonic stenosis, in which the pulmonary valve of her heart is too small in diameter," says our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance (HCA). "As a result, blood cannot pass freely between her heart and her lungs, and backs up into her heart. This makes her tired and sickly."
"She requires a surgery in which a balloon will be inserted into the valve to stretch it open to a near-normal size," HCA continues. University Hospital of Martinique has contributed $7500 to cover Dashka's medical expenses, but she needs an additional $1500 for overseas preparation and transportation.
HCA tells us that "following surgery, normal blood flow should be restored to Dashka's heart and she should not require additional surgeries in the future."
"She wants to be a cardiologist when she grows up so she can help other kids like her," HCA adds.