HeartNET
A Direct Connection to Heart to Heart
International, Inc.
Africa: Kenya
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Teresia Njeri
Country of Origin: Gatundu, Kenya
DOB: 10/03/84
Aliment: Large Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), Mitral Valve Insufficiency
Teresia Njeri was eight months old before her health began to
deteriorate, but she had always been very small. One evening in May
of 1985, Teresia began to cry and sweat profusely. Her father, a
cab driver in Gatundu, Kenya, rushed his his infant daughter and his wife
to the local hospital. The child was diagnoses as suffering from
a "chest infection," was administered antibiotics, and sent home.
The infection returned several times throughout the next several years
of her life and even though Teresia was admitted to |
the hospital on several occasions, her heart murmur was never detected.
Finally, in January of 1991, Teresia's parents decided to seek
another opinion. While visiting a relative in the Thika District
in the east of Kenya, Teresia again fell ill and was examined in Kenyatta
Hospital. A heart murmur was immediately detected and the young girl
was referred to Dr. B.M. Gikonyo of the Nairobi Heart Clinic. After an
echocardiogram, it was discovered that Teresia's heart had several deformities.
The wall that separates the heart's lower two chambers, the ventricles,
had a large hole in it. This defect allowed oxygenated blood to mix
with oxygen-deficient blood, thus preventing Teresia's body from receiving
the oxygen it needed to grow at a normal rate. Teresia's parents were devastated
to learn that there daughter's heart would most likely fail her early in
life. Surgical correction was a possibility, but not on the mainland
of Africa and traveling abroad would cost thousands of dollars the Teresia's
family did not have.
The search for help began and Dr. Gikonyo led the effort. She
had been involved with Heart to Heart founding case, that of Faith Nyambura,
and knew that Teresia was a strong candidate for full surgical correction.
The young girl had fought off infection after infection and had overcome
each illness without losing her smile. Dr. Gikonyo, however, feared that
the tide would turn against Teresia in a matter of months.
Dr. Herman Taylor, Jr., the founder of Heart to Heart, learned of the case
and put Dr. Gikonyo in touch with physicians at Heart to Heart newest partner
hospital, the University of Maryland at Baltimore Medical Center.
She began a dialogue with pediatric cardiologist Dr. Joel I. Breeder and
in September of 1991 Teresia and her father arrived in Baltimore.
Upon arrival, it was discovered that Teresia was suffering from an infection
of the upper-respiratory system. While she was recovering additional
tests discovered another flaw in Teresia's heart. One of her heart
valves, the mistral, leaked blood, reducing the heart ability to adequately
pump to the rest of the body. Dr. Breeder and an additional physician,
Dr. Richard Ringlet, however, still felt a surgical solution existed.
On October 10th, surgeon John Laschinger M.D. patched Teresia's heart.
After several weeks, Teresia recovered from her ordeal and was a source
of never-ending laughter and smiles. She and her father returned to Kenya
and Teresia has continued to do well over the past several years.
Heart to Heart International,
Incorporated
A Non-Profit Corporation
318 Lyons-Harrison Research Building
701 South 19th Street
Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0007
Tel: 205-934-8085
Fax: 205-975-6535
