Darline is a 15-year-old student living in Haiti with her older sister’s family. Her sister is her primary caregiver. Darlene likes to listen to music and cook, and enjoys writing and drawing at school. Darlene has not gone to school for the past two years due to heart disease.
Darline was diagnosed with a condition called severe mitral regurgitation, the result of an illness she suffered earlier in childhood. Her mitral valve does not function properly, allowing the abnormal leaking of blood backwards from the left ventricle, through the mitral valve, into the left atrium. People with mitral regurgitation often have symptoms of congestive heart failure, such as shortness of breath, pulmonary edema, painful breathing, fatigue, and swelling of the legs. “If left untreated, the condition could be fatal,” shares our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance (HCA).
Darline needs surgical intervention to repair or replace her mitral valve. However, this surgery is not safe to attempt in Haiti. HCA works to maintain a network of overseas referral hospitals in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere that are capable of accepting cases too complex to be attempted in-country. They organize not only the cost of the surgery, but also host family stay, airline fees, food, and travel insurance for the patient and parents for the duration of the medical care.
Through HCA, $5,000 of the total cost has been subsidized by the Health City Cayman Islands, a medically advanced tertiary hospital located in Grand Cayman. HCA tells us that Charles’s family needs an additional $1,500 to complete payment for his surgery and stay abroad.
Afterwards, Darline will have near-normal heart function with few to no cardiac symptoms. “I am a little bit afraid of having surgery but I know it will help me get better,” Darline shares. “I will be glad when it is over!”
