Success! Merline from Haiti raised $1,500 to fund heart surgery.

Merline
$1,500
raised
$0
to go
Fully funded
Merline's treatment was fully funded on September 9, 2018.
  • Merline's story
  • Merline's update
July 31, 2018

Photo of Merline post-operation

March 6, 2019

Merline underwent heart surgery.

During the surgery, a balloon was used to stretch Merline's valve open to a near-normal size, so that blood no longer backs up behind it. Sh...

Read more

Merline's Timeline

  • July 31, 2018
    PROFILE SUBMITTED

    Merline was submitted by Owen Robinson, Executive Director at International Cardiac Alliance.

  • August 9, 2018
    PROFILE PUBLISHED

    Merline's profile was published to start raising funds.

  • September 9, 2018
    FULLY FUNDED

    Merline's treatment was fully funded.

  • December 13, 2018
    TREATMENT OCCURRED

    Merline received treatment at Clinica Corominas in Dominican Republic. Medical partners often provide care to patients accepted by Watsi before those patients are fully funded, operating under the guarantee that the cost of care will be paid for by donors.

  • March 6, 2019
    TREATMENT UPDATE

    Merline's treatment was successful. Read the update.

Funded by 33 donors

Meet another patient you can support

100% of your donation funds life-changing surgery.

Rehma is a 5-year-old student in the first grade. She is the only child in the family. Both her parents are doing business selling second-hand clothes and running a barber shop respectively. Rhema likes smiling and eating but since her problem started, her family said she has not been the same and no longer shares her smile or eats enough. Rhema was well until 2020 when she started becoming weak and lethargic and her behavior changed. Her parents took her to the hospital where tests noted nothing wrong. They later took her to different hospitals seeking help but to no avail. Last year in December, Rhema was sick and could not eat anything, so she lost weight. Upon taking her to a private hospital, a diagnosis of a hernia was made after she pointed out the source of her pain. Her mother Pauline was notified about the need for surgery. Fortunately, she was then tipped by well-wishers to seek medical support from Partners in Hope Medical Center (PIH). Hernia is the condition in which soft tissue bulges through a weak point in the abdominal muscle. If the hernia is left untreated, the size of the protruding intestine might get bigger and become strangulated leading to the reduction of blood flow to surrounding tissues which may be life-threatening. On January 26th, Rhema and her mother visited PIH for further assessments despite their financial challenges. Rhema was seen by the surgeon who confirmed the diagnosis of a hernia, and she was then recommended for surgery. She was recommended to our program for financial support and their family is also contributing what they can to her treatment. Rhema's family needs help raising $575 in funds for her surgery, scheduled for January 30th. Rhema’s mother looks forward to a successful surgery that would enable Rhema to concentrate on her school as she continues concentrating on her business. She said, “I just want my only daughter to be well to continue sharing her smiles and concentrate at school.”

$130raised
$445to go