Rotary holds its first Gift of Life clinic for 2010
Twice a year, the Rotary Club of Belize hosts a volunteer group of doctors from the United States who come to Belize for the Gift of Life Program. Thousands have benefited, mainly children with heart diseases and who are in urgent need but can’t afford medical treatment. The first free clinic for this year was packed when it got underway today at the K.H.M.H. News Five’s Duane Moody has this report.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Hundreds of children who have been diagnosed with symptoms of heart failure, gathered at the clinic to get medical attention. Statistics show that one in every hundred children in the country is born with a heart condition and may need surgery. The Gift of Life program provides the opportunity for medical attention.
Dr. Jeff Delaney, Pediatric Cardiologist
“We’re seeing children that aren’t entirely well—that just had a murmur noted on their physical exam. But we’re finding out that everything is ok and we’re seeing children that have significant heart disease either that was already diagnose at a previous visit and just requires a follow up or newly diagnosed heart disease and we’re making those initial plans to get them treated and taken care of today.”
Yvette Burks
Yvette Burks, Coordinator, Rotary Gift of Life Program
“The clinic today is in Belize City—only the children from the north and central part of Belize and the Belize City area come to this clinic.”
According to coordinator of the program, Yvette Burks, many of the patients showed up for follow-up treatment, as was the case of nine year old Sabrina Brown, who soon after birth was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. According to her parents, Javier and Tricia, she is now a healthy girl.
Javier Brown, Father
“We started from nine years ago with her and we took her to Tampa Florida and that is where they initially did all the findings and the operation out there. So what we are doing here today is a follow up to that. So basically it’s from nine years ago we were with the program and we are very grateful for it.”
Duane Moody
“How do you feel now that you’re a person, a success story as to going out getting a surgery and living a normal childhood like any other child?”
Sabrina Brown
“It feels good.”
Duane Moody
“You got any pains or anything like that?”
Sabrina Brown
“No.”
And while Sabrina is doing well, many children will need urgent medical attention abroad says Doctor Jeff Delaney, a pediatric-cardiologist who has volunteered his services.
Dr. Jeff Delaney
Dr. Jeff Delaney
“The most common thing we see is probably holes. Kids can be born with holes in the heart and many of them don’t require treatment but they make a fairly prominent murmur when they are listened to. I’ve seen a number of kids already this morning that need treatment and will need to be organizing referrals soon to make sure that they don’t suffer more from their illness. But we’ve seen a number of kids today that I think are relatively urgent in needing treatment.”
To raise funds, the Rotary Club is organizing its annual raffle. But according to Burks, the support does not look promising.
Yvette Burks
“Rotary club of Belize has an average budget of at least four thousand dollars per child and just within the last six months, we’ve send nine children. So it really becomes quite stressful sometimes keeping it going. We do the plays which everybody enjoys during the summer. We also of course do the raffle. This year we’re doing the car raffle again—wonderful opportunity to win with donating hundred dollars to the cause unfortunately it’s been very slow going on now with Haiti’s emergency which all of us feel for them.”
Tickets for the raffle are available at Mala’s or you can contact Yvette Burks at Bert at 610-3890. Duane Moody, reporting for News Five.
Next Tuesday, the clinic travels to Dangriga to assists patients in the southern part of the country.
