Two children from Nelson Mandela Bay who were born with holes in their hearts, are looking forward to going to school, like their healthy peers, after undergoing successful heart surgeries in December 2021.
Six-year-old Sheronique Mengie and 10-year-old Cayson Cerfonteyn, had the holes in their hearts repaired by a team of doctors from Busamed Private Hospital in Paardevlei in the Western Cape.
Janice Cerfonteyn, mother of Cayson, expressed her happiness about the fact that her boy will soon be joining other school-going kids, healthier than before.
“I am adamant that he will do well this year at school since undergoing the surgery. The past two years I used to keep him at home, even when other children went to school, because I did not want him to be at risk of contracting COVID-19 due to his health condition,” she said.
“Before the operation, it was not easy to assist him with his schoolwork because you would not know whether he was feeling pain or just avoiding homework!
“I will take him to school in February because I want him to heal first so that he will be able to carry those heavy bags.
“I can see his health and physical ability improve every day. Since arriving home from the hospital, he is always playing with his puppies and running around. In short, I think he is ready to return to school, especially since the coronavirus seems to be slowing down.”
Sheronique’s mother, Selwynessa Mengie, is also happy that her daughter will be able to go to school for the very first time due to the life-saving surgery.
“Due to her condition, she was delayed in starting her schooling. She will be going to school for the first time this year. Since she managed to receive the surgery, I am going to find a school for her because I believe from now on she will be living a better life.
“Sheronique was always in and out of the hospital because of her heart condition. We discovered that she had a heart problem when she was two months old and since then she was put on the heart surgery waiting list.
“I would like to thank everyone for assisting in saving my baby’s life,” she said.
One of the doctors who was part of the team that made the surgeries possible, paediatric cardiologist, Dr Adele Greyling, said that she is excited that both surgeries went well.
“All the operations went well. The children had holes in their hearts and we have managed to fix that. Since leaving the hospital, we have continued to monitor their progress,” Greyling added.
The surgeries were made possible by Pelo Foundation, a non-profit organisation that raises funds and awareness for children in serious need of heart treatment and surgeries, and its partners, which include Busamed Private Hospital Group where the surgeries took place and the Wings and Wishes Foundation that transported the children from the Eastern Cape to the Western Cape.
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Dr Michael Janson from Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital, said if these children, all born with severe heart conditions, do not receive immediate medical intervention, they could suffer further health complications or may even die.
“Normally, children can be on the waiting list for about two years.
“I hope that there will be many entities that will come forward and collaborate so that we may assist in saving more lives,” he said.
Busamed Group clinical manager, Dr Christelle de Jager, added that South Africa has hundreds of children who are on the heart surgery waiting list. It is estimated that one out of every 1 000 babies is born with Congenital Heart Disease and that every six hours a newborn is added to the waiting list.
The partnership with Busamed, Pelo Foundation and Wings and Wishes is to ensure that many more children born with CHD can access the most needed surgery that will improve their quality of life.
Pelo Foundation aims at achieving its mission by raising funds to ensure that the children with congenital heart disease receive life-saving surgery and continue to receive medical treatment that could give them a chance to live normal lives.
“Our vision is to ensure that Africa’s children with congenital heart disease, who come from indigent communities, may have a chance to make it to adulthood,” the foundation’s Dudu Leshabane, said.
– ISSUED BY PELO FOUNDATION
