Asbel
Asbel is a small boy of only two years of age. As Asbel grew, his parents noted that he progressively seemed to have less energy. He could not run nor jump as did his older sister, and when he tried, he lips turned blue. Moreover, he often gasped for air, sobbed unexpectedly, and seemed to be perturbed or irritated most of the time.
Asbel’s parents were alarmed. Each time he cried, they feared that he might choke. The worried mother and father suspected that their child needed surgery. However, they also knew that their scant income from the father’s day wages as a driver would not cover heart surgery. Nonetheless, the couple bravely sought the medical diagnosis and learned that their son suffered a septal defect: the wall that should divide the two ventricles in Asbel’s heart was open. The medical advice was clear: this incomplete closure of the interventicular septum needed surgical treatment.
With the help of the Puente de Solidaridad Foundation and the generosity of Dharma Social Projects, Dr. Carlos Brockmann of the Belga Hospital in Cochabamba was able to provide the surgery Asbel needed. His life has new promise: a boy who previously gasped for air can now enjoy his childhood and grow up to be a healthy adult.