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Assistance to children with heart diseases increases
2007-07-04 08:54:20
By JOSEPH MWENDAPOLE
The current initiative taken by some Good Samaritans and individuals in offering medical treatment assistance to children suffering from heart (cardiovascular) diseases, has marked another milestone in rescuing the lives of these poor and needy children.
The Dar es Salaam Lions Club and Regency Medical Centre are among the few Good Samaritan groups that for years have dedicated their heartfelt assistance in offering heart treatment to children from poor families in India.
The children have been getting medical treatment which includes heart surgery at Nurayana Hrudayalaya heart Institute of India.
The hospital is said to be the world`s second largest in offering cardiovascular surgery with an ability of successfully conducting twenty four heart surgeries in a day through its professional heart surgeons.
In facilitating the exercise, Lions and Regency Medical Centre through their Millennium Heart Surgery Initiative, has been collecting money through charity from other good Good Samaritans.
Under the initiative, nearly one hundred children have benefited by getting heart treatment and surgery in Narayana Hrudayalaya Heart Institute.
Some of the children were suffering heart diseases such as heart valves disorders and porous heart walls.
Lives of the children were in typical danger, thanks to the two Dar es Salaam clubs for the heartfelt assistance in serving their lives.
Before treatment, the children have been experiencing hard respiration, general body tiredness and some even undergo stunted growth.
After treatment and on arrival back at home the children were looking jovial, giving a sign of hope that the light for their future life is now on.
The Chairman of Regency Medical Centre, Dr Rajni Kanabar, has been a pioneer in campaigning for more Good Samaritans to contribute what they have for the said treatment.
He says, the Lions Club has seen it as a daytime dream for an ordinary citizen to afford paying USD 1, 650 for treatment while he or she cannot manage even to have a single meal a day.
Dr Kanabar adds that, the issue of assisting these needy children in accessing treatment is a national issue regardless of how well-off one is.
He said there are thousands of children suffer from heart diseases in the country but fails to get treatment after their parents are poor.
The successfully implementation of the initiative has resulted to the Academy Award that the Dar es Salaam Lions Club (Host) has been awarded.
`Unless every individual Tanzanian contribute at least USD 1 to the initiative will the suffering children have sure of being treated,` he notes adding that with 34 million Tanzanians there will be USD34m -- enough to cover medical treatment.
In making sure that costs for the trip to India is minimized, the Lions Club has held talks with the India High Commission and its flag carrier India Airlines for the discount on visa and tickets respectively.
A parent of one of the rescued children was heard recently saying that before treatment her child was in a `dying zone` after having been born with only a single heart vessel.
In order to let him survive, the child had to undergo implantation of the missing heart vessels and now is normal like other children.
According to doctors, normally a child is born with two major heart vessels of pulmonary artery and pulmonary vein.
`But for the child, it had been an abnormal thing,` says Dr Kanabar.
`It is definitely that if not from the Lions Club’s efforts in mobilising donations, the life of this child would be a misery,`he added.
According to Dr Kanabar, the extra vessels implantation surgery costs about USD50,000, an amount that could not have been paid by the mother.
`I do not have anything visible to express my gratuity thanks to Dr Kanabar and all those who in other ways had facilitated treatment for my child,` said the mother adding that, her child is now happy and playing with fellow kids.
Judith Mhanga (16) says that she had a hole in the heart which made it difficult for her to breath.
`I can not express my joy as I was in very bad condition. I thank Dr Kanabar, IPP Executive Chairman Reginald Mengi and members of the Lions Club for their contribution,` she says.
Dr Kanabar named Dr Kiran Patel who is the founder of Global Understanding Foundation and IPP Executive Chairman, Reginald Mengi as the men of people who dare to share the little they have in helping the majority of needy people.
In another development, about 185 children are expected to undergo heart examination and those diagnosed to have ailments will be sent to India for treatment.
Dr Kanabar said that the exercise will be carried out both in the mainland and in the isles of Pemba and Unguja.
He says the medical examination will be free of charge and will be conducted in collaboration with the Zanzibar Ministry of Health.
On the Mainland, the exercise will be carried out at Regency Medical Centre in Dar es Salaam.
Dr Suresh, a heart surgeon and specialist from Narayana Hrudalaya Heart Institute will be in the country to lead the team of specialists who will carry out the exercise which will include medical check-ups for those who have already undergone surgery.
He called upon good Good Samaritans to volunteer in helping those who suffer from heart diseases and are not able to pay for medical treatment.
In another development, dlectronic cardiac evaluation of heart patients will be done by Regency Medical Centre in Dar es Salaam on behalf of an India-based Narayana Hrudalaya Heart Institute, according to Dr Rajni Kanabar, convener of the heart project of Lions Club of Dar es Salaam host.
Dr Kanabar said the results of the screening would be sent to the Indian institute and would be out in five minutes following telemedicine technology which connects the two medical institutes, enabling electrocardiograph and electrocardiogram expert reports within five minutes.
Heart specialists read the results through the computer and give out results and prescriptions, said Dr. Kanabar, adding that the service started at the centre two weeks ago with an electrocardiogram (electric tracing of heart) device and electrocardiograph equipment to examine the way the heart works.
The service runs for 24 hours a day to ensure that patients are checked anytime.
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