Sebastien is a 17-month-old boy from Haiti. He is the first child in his family. Sebastian’s father sells cell phones, and his mother stays home to care for him.
Sebastien was born with a condition called pulmonic valvar stenosis, in which one of the four valves of his heart is too small. Blood backs up from the valve into his heart, leaving him sickly and weak. Without treatment, this condition could be fatal.
On November 9, Sebastien traveled to the Cayman Islands to undergo treatment. Surgeons will insert a catheter into the affected heart valve and stretch the valve to normal size. Have a Heart Cayman Islands is subsidizing this $5,000 surgery. Now, his family needs help to pay his $1,500 travel fees.
“We are all a little scared about this surgery,” says his mother, “but we are excited that Sebastien can become a normal boy when it is over.”