Aitana

Aitana is the youngest of three children of Nair and Alejandro. The parents noticed early on that Aitana tired easily, breathed irregularly, and didn’t eat enough to thrive. They struggled through the first year of the pandemic in Bolivia to find help for their daughter. When they finally were able to see a cardiologist, the results were inconclusive. Their doctor said Aitana would need a cardiac catheterization procedure to diagnose her heart condition.

Nair tried to find a public hospital that would perform the cardiac catheterization for her daughter, but learned that these types of procedures were being suspended due to the pandemic. Dr. Echazú at the Belga hospital referred the family to the Puente de Solidaridad foundation to see if there was anything they could do to help. Puente social workers visited the family of five at their home just outside of Cochabamba. They could see Aitana needed medical attention and helped make the connection to partner surgeons at the Belga Hospital to perform the diagnostic procedure. While it was possible that Aitana would need additional surgical assistance following the diagnostic procedure, her parents were deeply grateful for the help in overcoming the barriers to cardiac care imposed during the Covid-19 health crisis.

Aitana underwent the diagnostic procedure at the Belga in mid-January and was released the following day. Six weeks after the procedure, social workers followed up to check on Aitana’s progress. Nair was happy to report that her daughter wouldn’t require surgery. Doctors determined Aitana’s condition could be treated non-surgically. Nair is taking the baby in for regular check-ups, but says her daughter is in good health and doing very well.

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