There’s a specialist clinic underway at the KHMH this week where
doctors from the United States are treating children with congenital heart disease.
It’s more common than you might think, as many as one in one hundred children
are born with murmurs, “hole-in-heart”, or “blue” baby
syndrome, and heart conditions. I found out more today.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
For twenty three days two year old Aiden Aranda was laid up hooked up to numerous
tubes in a hospital in the United States. Aiden had been born with a number
of heart congenital conditions that worsen as the condition was left untreated 
for so long. Five months later this is where we found Aiden Aranda sitting in
his mother’s lap drinking his bottle’s of milk and if it was not
for a small scar left in his chest you would not know that this little boy almost
lost his life…and that is why today Indira Bartley believes that her son
is indeed a miracle child.
Indira Bartley, Mother of Aiden Aranda
“On August 14th we found out that four things were wrong with his
heart and we flew to Florida in the month of October. He actually got the first
operation on October 21st. Unfortunately on October 23rd the right part of his
heart collapsed so they had to take him back to the OR. About a week after that
both his lungs collapsed so they had to incubate him and he wasn’t breathing
on his own.
He actually spent 23 days in the hospital. They said more or less it would
have been 5 to 7 due to all the difficulties that he had, he ended up spending
23 days in the hospital. What the doctor explained to me is that in the USA
whenever they are born with that condition, it is a problem that gets taken
care of immediately, probably when the kids are 3 weeks to a month old. And
due to the fact that he lived two years with the problem with his heart, it
was very difficult for the heart to work the proper way it was supposed to when
it got fixed. So actually the doctor said he wouldn’t have lived another
six months without that operation.”
And sadly the number continues to increase in Belizean babies being born with
congenital heart disease.
Dr. Bernard Bulwer, Chief of Medical Staff – KHMH
“There are a lot of defects, very strange ones that we have even today.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“For example?”
Dr. Bernard Bulwer,
“You normally when blood moves from the upper chamber called the atrium 
into the ventricles, we had a child this morning who has a condition where the
valves rather than being a door that opens and closes, it simply was a wall
without a door and we had to find a way of getting to the other side of the
heart.”
Aiden and Indira were in a room filled with other young heart patients and
their parents waiting to see a group of medical specialists at the Karl Heusner
Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Bernard Bulwer,
“There are hundreds of children in this country with congenital heart
disease. I would dare say based on the statistics that one out of every one
children being born has some kind of congenital heart disease. It is actually
the most common defect that a person can be born with. The most common defect
that someone can be born with is a congenital heart defect.”
KHMH Chief of Medical Staff Dr. Bernard Bulwer estimates that there are three
thousand children with varying heart conditions.
Dr. Bernard Bulwer,
“Congenital heart defects can range from mild defects that you can
live with to defects that you can’t live with. Some children are literally
stillborn because they cannot survive due to the severity of the defect. The
most common defects that we hear about in the Belize setting is like a hole
in the heart.”
Today’s special clinic is just one of several that have been conducted
in the country since 1977 that is when the Rotary Club of Belize’s Gift
of Life Programme was established but helping Belizean children with heart defects 
have not only been an ongoing effort spearheaded by Belizean Rotarian Yvette
Burks but by fellow Rotarians of Omaha Nebraska who for the past four decades
have been assisting and today works closely with the Gift of Life of programme
to keep it sustained.
Leroy Swedlund, Rotarian - Omaha Nebraska
“About 40 years ago a gentleman from Omaha came to Belize and visited
and loved it down here and saw the need for help and so he brought that request
back to our Rotary Club and said is there something we can do and so that is
how we started the program and we’ve done it now for close to 40 years.
And the good news is besides sending some of the children to Omaha, there are
other hospitals that participate collaboratively around the United States; Massachusetts
General, Mayo Clinic, a hospital in Southern Florida, and all are helping so
we can treat more children.”
And while the special clinics are conducted periodically throughout the year
it was equally encouraging to hear that following this visit by the team of
medical specialists the children will now be able to receive quicker diagnosis
right here in Belize at the KHMH. Dr. Bernard Bulwer is not only trained in
adult cardiology but echocardiography but has the expertise to make an early
diagnosis in children with congenital heart disease
Dr. Bernard Bulwer,
“As a matter of fact I do plan to have a clinic at least once a month
where upon a Saturday where children can come and if parents are worried about
their child having a lot of palpitations or shortness of breath or changing
colours when they exert themselves, or if the doctors have heard a murmur or
an abnormal noise, we can actually diagnose those children here.”
The KHMH plans to expand the special care service for both its young and adult
patients.
Dr. Bernard Bulwer,
“Without question we are working on getting the facilities. We’ve
come a long way, we’ll be getting in due course the type of diagnostics
equipment.”
And one medical professional who may just be a part of the specialized care
is Dr. Adrian Coye who is a Belizean that has been trained in Jamaica and England
and specializes in cardiothoracic surgery.
Dr. Adrian Coye, Specialist Cardiothoracic Surgery
“If you look at the provision for cardio care generally in adult and
paediatric worldwide, we are the predominant leaders that is where the least
care is being offered. 90% of the need in the world is not being provided and
so Belize is an example of most developing countries where there is this gross
under provision of care.”
Dr. Bernard Bulwer,
“I want to speak to the Ministry of Health in particular and the government
of Belize and the Social Security Board that in the republics, the Social Security
gets involved in healthcare. They are big institutions and especially like how
we are next door, Social Security next door to the KHMH, I would like to see
integrally involved in the care of patients with heart disease in particular
and healthcare in general in Belize and that is the way to get Dr. Coye back,
where there is a will there is a way.”
It is important note that if it wan sot a visit at one of the clinics young
Aiden Aranda may have been diagnosed and may probably have not survived.
Jacqueline Godwin,
“And how is he doing today?”
Indira Bartley,
“He is perfectly healthy, everything is okay with him. His fingers,
before he got the operation, everything on him was always blue because he wasn’t
getting any oxygen to the body but now as you can see it has normal colours
and he is perfectly healthy. I just hope and pray to God that they continue
what they are doing. You know there are a lot of kids born in Belize with this
situation and many of the parents don’t know and thanks to this clinic
a lot of kids are getting help and I just hope they continue, I just hope Ms.
Burke and the Rotary Club continue working and doing what they are doing because
if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have had my baby.”
The clinic continued until seven this evening. On Wednesday the team
of specialists will be conducting a similar clinic at the Southern Regional
Hospital.
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