Maryam
After separating from her partner, Martina, 26, took her infant daughter Maryam to live with Maryam’s grandmother in the Bolivian town of Yacuiba located on the border with Argentina. When Maryam was born, her pediatrician told Martina that Maryam had a heart murmur, but that it would resolve on its own over time. But after a few months living in Yacuiba, Martina noticed that her baby’s health was deteriorating. She decided to pack up again and move back to Santa Cruz to be closer to specialized medical care, in case Maryam needed it. Mother and daughter moved in with Martina’s sister and her sister’s friend, who agreed to care for the toddler while Martina worked selling fruit at a local market.
Over time, Maryam struggled increasingly to breathe, often turning blue. Specialists at the Incor heart hospital determined that a Glenn procedure would improve Maryam’s oxygenation and relieve pressure on her weakened heart, by rerouting blood flow from her upper body directly to her lungs. It is a rarely performed procedure, made accessible for a brief time in Bolivia thanks to a visiting team from Texas Children’s Hospital. Financial support from the Goff Gift Fund and coordination of the full week of pediatric heart surgeries provided by the visiting doctors were provided through the Solidarity Bridge/ Puente de Solidaridad Heart Program.