U.S. doctors donate pacemakers to needy patients
Despite significant advances in medical care in Belize, technology that has become standard in other parts of the world is still out of reach of needy patients. But this week, one group of Belizeans will benefit from a donation that will make life a lot less complicated.
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
For a number of Belizeans, this tiny but expensive device known as a pacemaker means the difference between life and death.
Dr. David Morton, Visiting Cardiologist
“Pacemakers regulate your heartbeat, so if you have a really slow heartbeat, it could make you pass out or you could even die from that. The pacemaker is a little electrical device that goes in up under the collarbone, it has a little battery and a little wire goes down inside you heart and make your heartbeat regular.”
Dr. Curtis Samuels, Cardiologist, K.H.M.H.
“We have had people who have died in the past here in Belize because of the need of an urgent Pacemaker implantation because once you get a heart attack of that area of the heart, there is always a possibility that you could end up needing a Pacemaker emergently, permanently.”
“When we heard about the possibility of patients gaining access to free pacemakers, we jumped at the chance because a Pacemaker will run you between twelve to twenty thousand dollars Belize.”
This week a team of two doctors, two nurses, and a technician from St. Louis, Missouri in the United States are in Belize to install pacemakers and treat patients in need to follow up care.
Dr. David Morton
“They originally had set up twelve patients who needed Pacemakers. So far we have identified five of them, so we still have a few more to see and we will be here for the rest of the week seeing patients through the week both here at K.H.M.H. and also at Mercy Clinic and then another doctor is here, Dr. Dodmire and we are gonna divide into two teams and half of us are going to go down to P.G. down at the end of the week.”
Eighty-seven year old Idolly Williams is one of those patients receiving assistance. Williams had a Pacemaker installed in 2003. This week, she’ll get new batteries.
Calvin Neal, Mother has Pacemaker
“We have found out lately since the first of January that she has been having some fainting spells and we bring her back to the doctor and found that the battery was getting weak, so they did some follow up checks on her and this is where we are at now.”
Dr. Curtis Samuels
“Normally, a Pacemaker, once it is implanted at least during the five year span does not need a lot of serving. There are times when certain things occur and it would then require follow-up.”
“So we just have to go ahead and implant the Pacemaker and hop for the best and there is no complication, at least between the time when they are scheduled to come back, because I am encouraging them to come back at least on a once to two year basis.”
The patients for the clinic were pre-screened through the Mercy Clinic or the K.H.M.H. Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
The Metro Heart Group also donated a defibrillator to the K.H.M.H. this morning. The Missouri medical team is scheduled to leave the country on Sunday.
