Angel
Timing can be everything. Just a month ago, Puente de Solidaridad/Solidarity Bridge staff in Bolivia formed a new partnership with FundaCor, a foundation dedicated to advancing the health of individuals with congenital heart disease in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The needs run high, with hospital beds and resources in short supply both in private and public settings in Santa Cruz and other cities in Bolivia. Dharma Social Projects generously stepped up and offered its support to reduce that gap with financial support for children’s heart surgery.
Just as this relationship of solidarity and care was being finalized, little Angel was born across town. His mother was too ill to care for him and Angel was turned over to a state agency for the protection of children. Yet, Angel’s life was in danger. He coughed and wheezed, and doctors quickly recognized that the child suffered from life-threatening pneumonia. The underlying issue was congenital heart disease.
With the support of FundaCor, Puente de Solidaridad/Solidarity Bridge and Dharma Social Projects, Angel received the surgery he needed at the tender age of four weeks, namely pulmonary artery banding. By safely placing a band around the pulmonary artery and tightening it carefully like a drawstring, Angel’s surgeon was able to reduce excessive blood flow and protect the baby from irreversible pulmonary hypertension.
Angel would not have survived without the support of generous individuals, who though far away, offer a chance for a child to overcome the overwhelming obstacles placed in his way.