Sheily is a 5-year-old girl from Guatemala with a type of congenital heart disease called patent ductus arteriosus. PDA is a condition in which the ductus arteriosus, a normal fetal heart vessel that allows the baby’s blood to go around its lungs before birth, fails to close after the baby is born and messes up the flow of blood between the aortic and pulmonary vessels of the heart.
Sheily’s condition makes her constantly fatigued. PDA is known to cause labored and shallow breathing, rapid pulse, and poor growth. It’s not a happy situation for a 5-year-old kid to endure.
Luckily, Sheily ended up in the care of doctors who know exactly how to treat her condition. They tell us that with preoperative lab work and surgery, Sheily has an excellent chance of living a completely normal life. Sheily comes from an extremely poor region of Guatemala. Our Medical Partner tells us that her parents are active members of the local community counsil and are leaders in fighting for the nutritional health of the community, but they lack the financial resources to pay for their daughter’s medical care. Let’s fund Sheily’s treatment and show them that we’ve got their backs!