Johannesburg- Natasha Nimrod is the happiest woman on earth after her six-year-old girl who has been waiting for heart surgery for three years finally underwent the much-needed treatment.
Chenille from Queenstown in Eastern Cape, who is suffering from congenital heart disease (CHD), was operated on to repair a hole in her heart and was discharged this week.
Her 40-year-old unemployed mother said her prayers had been answered.
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“I remember the day I discovered that she has this serious heart problem, I became worried and scared because the operation wanted a huge amount of money and her father is a security guard, while I am unemployed,” she said.
“Then we went to the public hospital where she was added to the waiting list of those waiting for CHD treatment. Each time she told me that her heart was beating fast, it pained me. I prayed every day for assistance.” The operation was performed a few weeks after the Pelo Foundation launched a campaign to raise funds for children suffering from CHD.
There are about 200 children who are on the waiting list for treatment, five of whom are children in dire need of medical intervention.
It is estimated that one out of every 1 000 babies is born with CHD and that every six hours a newborn is added to the waiting list of those in need of surgery and treatment.
“Normally, children can be on the waiting list for about two years, which means they might be in pain for that period.
“I hope that there would be many entities that will come up and collaborate so that we assist these children,” said Michael Janson, a doctor from Busamed, who was part of the team that assisted Chenille to get surgery.
Janson said Chenille was randomly chosen out of children on the waiting list. “Our aim is to assist as many children as we can should we immediately get the financial injection,” he said.
Eastern Cape department of health’s Tsokodi Ntsoane conceded that there was a huge backlog when it came to treating CHD.
“As a department, we will continue to play our part by offering the usual services such as tests, preoperative works and other related matters,” said Ntsoane.
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