Mackendy is a 2-year-old boy who was born with several holes in his heart, including a patent ductus arteriosus, an atrial septal defect, and a ventricular septal defect. The net effect of these holes is to allow oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood to mix in his heart without passing through the lungs, leaving him sickly and weak. Mackendy was also born with other developmental disabilities.
Because of the complexity of his condition, Mackendy required a cardiac catheterization to better understand the size, location, and nature of the holes in his heart. Now that this has been completed, he can move on to have open-heart surgery to close these defects.
Mackendy lives in Port-au-Prince with his mother and father and one older brother. His father is a driver for a package delivery company, and his mother works part-time in the market. Mackendy is very attached to both of his parents, and enjoys playing with his brother.
“We are glad that Mackendy can have surgery, and are praying to God that everything will go well for him,” his father said.