Back and Next - Back and NextHeart patients return from Venezuela
Monday, September 8, 2008
Two of the four young children who underwent congenital heart surgery in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, returned to Banjul on Saturday morning, after their treatment.
The youngsters, Fatou Jarju and Kaddyjatou Ceesay, were operated on under the complementary agreement between The Gambia, Venezuela and Cuba. They were received at the foot of the aircraft by Dr Mariatou Jallow, the chief medical officer at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, and Madam Lourdes E Pirez Martinez, the Venezuelan charge d’ affairs in The Gambia.
On arrival at the Banjul International Airport, Lamin Camara, a senior nurse at the RVTH, who accompanied the children to Caracas, told reporters that the children were subjected to some special cardiac investigations before they were put under the knife.
He disclosed that the results of that investigation revealed more complicated heart malformation, something different from what their original diagnosis had revealed in The Gambia. But within six hours, he said, the children were successfully operated on.
Mr Camara further informed reporters that the remaining two children were not yet operated on because, as medical investigations revealed, they have some abnormalities that could endanger their lives if they are to be operated on.
About the lucky two whose operations went on successfully, he said that their conditions before the operations had also been “very bad”.
"One of the patients, Kaddyjatou Ceesay, couldn’t walk [before the operation], despite being at the age of 3. But now, she walks normally [after the operation]," Camara narrated, adding that the children were now healthy enough to live normal lives.
Madam Lourdees E Pirez Martinez, the Venezuelan charge d’ affairs in The Gambia, said that the operations fell within their line of promotion of “integration through humanity and solidarity”.
She spoke at length about the other areas of integration between Banjul and Caracas, including agriculture and education, amongst others.
She added that the health component of the agreement provides for Gambian medical students to travel to Venezuela in furtherance of their education.
"We want to promote an integration that will add value and quality to human life," the charge d’ affairs said, while expressing hope to see more Gambian children undergo such operations in Venezuela.
For her part, the RVTH’s Dr Jallow, who is also the coordinator of the health complementary agreement between the three countries, expressed delight and gratitude to the people and government of Venezuela for restoring the health of the children.
Dr Jallow revealed that 12 more Gambians had already been identified to undergo similar operations in Venezuela, in October this year.
"Our long term plan,” she said, “is for The Gambia to have the full capacity to handle such cases”. She described the operation as “very expensive" and praised the leaders of the two countries for their concern in the cause of humanity.
Nyima Sillah, a grandmother to Fatou Jarju, and Kebba Ceesay, a brother to Kaddyjatou Ceesay, both of whom accompanied the children to Venezuela, showered praises on the leaders of the two countries for making the operations possible.
The youngsters, Fatou Jarju and Kaddyjatou Ceesay, were operated on under the complementary agreement between The Gambia, Venezuela and Cuba. They were received at the foot of the aircraft by Dr Mariatou Jallow, the chief medical officer at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, and Madam Lourdes E Pirez Martinez, the Venezuelan charge d’ affairs in The Gambia.
On arrival at the Banjul International Airport, Lamin Camara, a senior nurse at the RVTH, who accompanied the children to Caracas, told reporters that the children were subjected to some special cardiac investigations before they were put under the knife.
He disclosed that the results of that investigation revealed more complicated heart malformation, something different from what their original diagnosis had revealed in The Gambia. But within six hours, he said, the children were successfully operated on.
Mr Camara further informed reporters that the remaining two children were not yet operated on because, as medical investigations revealed, they have some abnormalities that could endanger their lives if they are to be operated on.
About the lucky two whose operations went on successfully, he said that their conditions before the operations had also been “very bad”.
"One of the patients, Kaddyjatou Ceesay, couldn’t walk [before the operation], despite being at the age of 3. But now, she walks normally [after the operation]," Camara narrated, adding that the children were now healthy enough to live normal lives.
Madam Lourdees E Pirez Martinez, the Venezuelan charge d’ affairs in The Gambia, said that the operations fell within their line of promotion of “integration through humanity and solidarity”.
She spoke at length about the other areas of integration between Banjul and Caracas, including agriculture and education, amongst others.
She added that the health component of the agreement provides for Gambian medical students to travel to Venezuela in furtherance of their education.
"We want to promote an integration that will add value and quality to human life," the charge d’ affairs said, while expressing hope to see more Gambian children undergo such operations in Venezuela.
For her part, the RVTH’s Dr Jallow, who is also the coordinator of the health complementary agreement between the three countries, expressed delight and gratitude to the people and government of Venezuela for restoring the health of the children.
Dr Jallow revealed that 12 more Gambians had already been identified to undergo similar operations in Venezuela, in October this year.
"Our long term plan,” she said, “is for The Gambia to have the full capacity to handle such cases”. She described the operation as “very expensive" and praised the leaders of the two countries for their concern in the cause of humanity.
Nyima Sillah, a grandmother to Fatou Jarju, and Kebba Ceesay, a brother to Kaddyjatou Ceesay, both of whom accompanied the children to Venezuela, showered praises on the leaders of the two countries for making the operations possible.
Author: by Hatab Fadera
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