Three-year-old Kemlie “is a playful child and likes to wear frilly dresses and to dance,” says our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance (HCA). She is a playful girl from northern Haiti who is the first child of her hard-working parents. Her father drives a bus and her mother used to work in the market until Kemlie’s medical needs came to demand more of her attention.
“Kemlie was born with a cardiac condition called ventricular septal defect, in which a hole exists between the two lower chambers of her heart. Blood leaks through this hole without first passing through the lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving her sickly and weak,” HCA explains.
For $1,500, we can help fund the cardiac surgery needed to fix the defect in Kemlie’s heart. Her treatment has already received a $5,000 subsidy from the International Children’s Heart Foundation.
This surgery will involve closing the defect using a patch of fabric or a piece of the pericardium (the lining on the outside of the heart). Without this surgery, Kelmie may have trouble growing at a normal rate and may experience higher pressure in the blood vessels that might cause permanent damage.
Let’s help Kemlie grow up without heart complications.