Selma
Jessica was a 23-year-old university student when she gave birth to her first daughter, Selma. Being young and healthy, and busy with school, Jessica didn’t prioritize prenatal check-ups until her last trimester, and she skipped the standard ultrasound screenings. So it was a surprise for Jessica and her partner, Isaac, when their daughter was born with Down syndrome. Jessica dropped out of school to take care of the baby, who appeared relatively healthy until around 7 months old. Selma began to suffer persistent respiratory infections with fevers and would cough and gasp until she turned blue. She was eventually hospitalized with pericardial effusion, a buildup of fluid around the heart. Doctors then diagnosed Selma with a secundum atrial septal defect, the most common type of ASD that occurs in the atrial septum, the wall between the upper heart chambers. Selma’s ASD was significantly impairing her breathing. She needed urgent open surgery to repair the defect before it caused further damage.
Isaac supports his young family as a barber, earning around $330 dollars a month. Jessica’s six younger brothers still live at home with and depend financially on their parents, so Selma’s grandparents were unable to help with the cost of the surgery. Jessica turned to the Cochabamba office of Puente de Solidaridad: “Please I’m asking you to help me. I am desperate; I don’t know what to do to find help … help me save the life of my daughter. It hurts to see her get sicker and sicker.”
Selma’s open-heart surgery was performed on April 2, successfully placing a pericardial patch to close the hole in her heart. She responded remarkably well and was stable enough to go home just 5 days later. When the Puente de Solidaridad social worker checked in with the family on May 13th, Jessica reported that Selma was doing very well, with her appetite greatly improved.