We are creating this blog post in behalf of Guivenson, a 14-year-old boy from Timo, Haiti, who needs to have heart surgery to repair a very large ventriculoseptal defect (VSD). This boy was first examined by members of the Haiti Health Initiative (HHI) medical team in October 2014. This heart condition is severe, and Guivenson will develop heart failure without having the surgery.
His mother and father are anxious to have this surgery done as soon as possible. Many of you who are reading this have already shown your generosity by participating in HHI teams to Timo or by making donations in the past. A special note about Guivenson: his father was one of the local Haitians who generously gave his time to build the new Timo Community Center. It makes sense that his son, who was seen by the medical team during the trip when the Community Center was opened, might be able to have this life-saving surgery as a result of the efforts of HHI. Marc-Aurel Martial knows this family well and speaks of them with great fondness. Now we must raise the funds to make this surgery possible.
We have been in direct contact with the pediatric cardiac surgeon, Dr. Eliot Rosenkranz, at the University of Miami Children’s Hospital. With assistance from International Kids Fund (IKF), an NGO that helps fund and arrange surgeries for children from Haiti, we have been given approval for this heart surgery. IKF has asked HHI to help with the costs of doing the surgery in Miami, so we are trying to raise $5000 in the next few weeks.
We hope that you, as well as your family and friends, can make a donation to HHI for Guivenson’s surgery. Please feel free to publicize this intitiative to your friends and associates through word of mouth, e-mail, and social media. Please seize this opportunity to make a large difference in the life of a 14-year-old Haitian boy.
A special fund has been set up for donations for Guivenson’s surgery.
Thanks for considering this request,
Mark E. Rampton, M.D.
5455 NW Crescent Valley Dr.
Corvallis, OR 97330
