September 4, 2015
Clari is a 32-year-old mother of two from a remote village in the jungles of Panama. She lives with her family in a humble wooden hut on the top of a tall, steep hill, spending her days running the family cacao farm, and raising her two children.
Clari lives with failure of the two mitral valves in her heart. She is now experiencing heart failure from rheumatic fever and doctors have been managing her condition for almost four years.
“Right now she sleeps poorly, is always out of breath, and has chest pain very frequently. Also her legs and stomach often swell up with fluid,” explains our medical partner, Floating Doctors (FD). “She lives under the ongoing worry that she will have a major heart failure and die in her remote mountain community.”
This does not stop Clari from leaving her home each day to sell cacao to support her family. “She has shown incredible courage and responsibility,” FD says.
For $1493, we can fund a mitral valve repair for Clari. This life-changing and life-saving operation will repair both of Clari’s mitral valves, potentially eliminating the need for medication and drastically increasing the quality of her life. While FD will cover the cost of food and travel to a hospital capable of carrying out this operation, we will cover the cost of her actual surgery, including the echocardiogram and heart bypass needed for a successful surgery.
After this operation, Clari will be able to breathe easily again. She dreams of having another baby, watching her children grow up and a new chance at life without the burdens of her condition.
Clari is a 32-year-old mother of two from a remote village in the jungles of Panama. She lives with her family in a humble wooden hut on the...
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December 17, 2015
Clari received life-saving heart surgery.
Despite some delays with her surgery date, and unexpected complications during surgery, Clari is on the road to recovery. “This surgery will be life-changing for Clari,” our medical partner, Floating Doctors (FD) reports.
After her surgery, Clari stayed in the intensive care unit for over a week, and has made enough progress to be released to the normal recovery ward. “She will be allowed to go home in another week or so, and we look forward to seeing her back home and with her family,” FD adds.
“We anticipate that when she has recovered fully, she will be on far less medications, have much greater mobility, much less chest pain, and be at much less risk for sudden cardiac death.” She will no longer have to deal with the immobilizing pain in her chest and legs, or the constant worry of heart failure in her mountainous community.
Despite the stressful delays and surgery, FD adds that Clari “has always been a fighter.” They also share that she sent a photo from her phone to her doctors with “a small smile of victory on her face. If you want to know what courage looks like, look at Clari.”
Clari looks forward to being in less pain and having more energy once she gains her strength. “She says she can’t wait to be home and to walk among the trees and along the river in her village again.”
“She is enormously proud of herself for making it through this treatment, which took such a huge effort on our part and on her part to achieve,” FD continues, “and she specifically asked to pass on thanks to Watsi for making it possible to have the surgery.”
Despite some delays with her surgery date, and unexpected complications during surgery, Clari is on the road to recovery. "This surgery will...
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