GUATEMALAN BOY UNDERGOING 2ND SURGERY; VALENCIA CHARITY PAYING MEDICAL BILLS FOR HEART PATIENT.Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer A 4-year-old Guatemalan boy who suffers from a congenital heart defect Noun 1. congenital heart defect - a birth defect involving the heart birth defect, congenital abnormality, congenital anomaly, congenital defect, congenital disorder - a defect that is present at birth will have a pacemaker surgically implanted today, just days after an operation to repair a faulty valve. Costs of the surgery and the family's travel expenses to Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, were underwritten by Healing the Children, a Valencia-based charity that for 18 years has been helping ill youngsters receive medical treatment, said Cris Embleton, director of the organization's California chapter. Physicians at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a world-renowned hospital located in Los Angeles, California. History Cedars-Sinai is the result of a merger in 1961 between two major Los Angeles hospitals, Cedars of Lebanon and Mount Sinai Home for the Incurables, with Steve Broidy as donated their services to help Diego Diaz, and the hospital charged less than half its usual fee for the operation, performed Wednesday, said Dr. Alfredo Trento, chief of cardiac surgery Cardiac surgery is surgery on the heart and/or great vessels performed by a cardiac surgeon. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, coronary artery bypass grafting), correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease at Cedars-Sinai. The boy, who is due to turn 5 on Sept. 11, is recovering in the hospital's pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. intensive care unit. Diego was born with an atrio-ventricular septal defect septal defect See Atrial septal defect, Ventricular septal defect. - which means ``the central portion of the heart was missing,'' Trento said. ``It's a pretty rare situation.'' Nearly two years ago, Healing the Children brought Diego to California for his first heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai. The operation was a success, and the boy seemed healthy until last month, when doctors in Guatemala determined that Diego could die unless he underwent another operation, Embleton said. ``Diego had a leak of his mitral valve mitral valve n. A valve of the heart, composed of two triangular flaps, that is located between the left atrium and left ventricle and regulates blood flow between these chambers. Also called bicuspid valve, left atrioventricular valve. , which was very significant,'' Trento said. ``And because of his congenital problem, he is developing a very slow heart rate.'' Last week's procedure went well, by all accounts. ``We were able to fix his valve, and (today) we are going to put a pacemaker in him so his heart is going to go faster,'' Trento said. The pacemaker, donated by the manufacturer, will have to be replaced every five years as Diego grows, Trento said. Embleton is hosting Diego's parents, Sandra and Otto, and 8-year-old sister Gabriela, during the family's stay in Southern California. Donations of $8,000 to Healing the Children were raised in about a week, covering the costs of assorted surgical equipment used in Diego's operation, she said. Embleton described Diego as an active little boy whose outward appearance gave little hint of his health problems. ``He appeared perfectly normal. In fact, he was racing around my neighborhood when he arrived,'' she said. ``You'd never know he was sick,'' Embleton added. ``His parents didn't know he was sick until they took him for his annual exam. His heart rate was way down.'' Otto and Sandra Diaz, a printer and a homemaker from Guatemala City Guatemala City City (pop., 1994: city, 823,301; 1999 est.: metro area, 3,119,000), capital of Guatemala. The largest city in Central America, it lies in the central highlands at an elevation of about 4,900 ft (1,490 m). , couldn't afford the air fare and the medical bills for the surgery their son needed, Embleton said. ``They're not the poorest of the poor, but they certainly don't have extra money,'' she said, adding the medical expertise for the operation isn't available in their Central American country Noun 1. Central American country - any one of the countries occupying Central America; these countries (except for Belize and Costa Rica) are characterized by low per capita income and unstable governments Central American nation . ``There's no way he could have had heart surgery in Guatemala.'' After Diego's last surgery two years ago, Sandra and Otto Diaz began volunteering their time to help other Guatemalan families with ill children, Embleton said. ``They did it never expecting that their child would need help again. The purpose was to return all (the kindness) that was given to them,'' she said. ``They were so overwhelmed that their child had a chance to live.'' Trento said Diego's prognosis is good. ``He's going to be pretty much a normal kid,'' the doctor said. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour SAC edition only) Diego Diaz Needs pacemaker installed |
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