Peter

Peter is the fifth of six children of Ana and Isaac. The family lives together in the Mennonite Community of “New Hope” in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Isaac is a farmer with a variable income and Ana is dedicated to housework and taking care of the children. This has been a rough year because they lost their crop and Peter was hospitalized due to a rare heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot.

Isaac shared, “Since Peter was a child he had a heart problem. He was operated in 2015 with support from the New Hope community. Now we are going through difficult times. My crops failed and we are trying to just get by from day to day. My son has been in the Children’s Hospital for one and a half months because he is in fragile health and needs surgery again. That’s why we are looking for ways to help us pay for our son’s operation.”

On December 2, Dr. Barrientos and Dr. Jaldín performed a Glenn shunt procedure as the second step in a three step reconstructive process to correct the structural issues in Peter’s heart. This palliative procedure will help to improve blood flow until Peter is able to undergo the final open heart surgery in this process. Peter was released from the hospital six days after surgery. His five brother and sisters and his parents were happy to bring Peter home after a pro-longed and worrisome time in the hospital. At the end of a difficult year, this surgery brought a ray of hope to Peter’s family and community.

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