Luana
Rolando, 45, and Denisse, 35, have been married for 18 years. They both have steady professional jobs which have allowed them to maintain a relatively comfortable lifestyle for their family, which includes three young children and Denisse’s 80-year-old mother.
When their only daughter and youngest child, Luana, was diagnosed with a congenital heart malformation known as Atrial Septal Defect, Rolando and Denisse were afraid they could lose the financial stability they had worked so hard for. Even with their professional salaries, it would take years to save enough to cover the cost of corrective surgery. Fortunately, Luana’s heart disease could be treated through a cardiac catheterization procedure available with the support of a network of foundations, including Solidarity Bridge/ Puente de Solidaridad.
As Denisse expressed to the Puente de Solidaridad social worker who visited the family in their home:
When we found out about our little girl’s health, it was very painful. We are professionals but we did not have the cash to cover the surgery and we were looking for help … Thank God the opportunity arose for our little girl to benefit from this assistance.
In addition to the network of organizations in Bolivia and the Incor Clinic at which the intervention took place, Denisse and Rolando are especially grateful to Dharma Social Projects for their financial support.