Herlan
Herlan is the oldest son of Eusebio and Monica. He lives with his parents and younger sister in the southern Bolivian town of Tarija. Herlan’s mother shared, "My son was always healthy, until August of this year. That was when he began having fever and chest pains. He was hospitalized for two weeks with pneumonia. At the hospital, they conducted several tests and determined he had a heart problem. We have a relative in the city of Santa Cruz and so we came to see a specialist. When they explained the severity and urgency of our son’s surgery, we didn’t know what to do. We thank God we have support from our family and friends in Tarija. We want to see our son healthy."
Earlier this year, Herlan and his family moved from their hometown of Tarija to stay with their uncle in Santa Cruz so that Herlan could receive the specialized care he needed. At home, Eusebio works as a bus driver and Monica works as a street vendor. They were quick to uproot themselves when Herlan became sick. With generous support from their family and friends and U.S. donors Isaac and Renee Goff, Herlan was approved for surgery on October 21, 2019 at the Incor Hospital in Santa Cruz. Bolivian surgeons Dr. Barrientos and Dr. Jaldín performed the complicated surgery to repair Herlan’s heart condition, called infundibular ventricle septal defect with aortic regurgitation.
Herlan remained in the hospital for a full week as recovered from surgery. He returned home just in time to celebrate his thirteenth birthday with a grateful community of family and friends. Monica expressed her gratitude, saying, "I wish with all my heart that you continue with this work you do to support heart surgery. Without your help, it would have been impossible for us to have this operation for our son. Thank you very much."