Hope for Hilary in Honduras

Have you ever wondered how life would be if you changed just one moment?   If it were not for Dr. Christian Gilbert, one of ICHF’s pediatric heart surgeons, and Ronaldo Roll, Director of Helping Hands for Honduras, crossing paths over 10 years ago, 195 children in Honduras may not have received life saving cardiac surgery. Below is the story of one Honduran child that has changed the fate of many.

Hilary was born in Guayape Olanche, a remote area of Honduras, in 2000.    She was born with a complex heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF).

TOF is a complex condition consisting of four heart defects:

1.             A large ventricular septal defect (VSD)

2.             Pulmonary  stenosis

3.             Right ventricular hypertrophy

4.             An overriding aorta

Together, these four defects make it difficult for enough blood to reach the lungs to receive oxygen; as a result, oxygen-poor blood flows out to the body.

When Hilary was two months old, her mother, Maritza, knew something was wrong with her new baby.  She took her to a local pediatrician who detected the heart defect and told her the devastating news that Hilary would need open-heart surgery available only in the United States. If Hilary were not to receive this surgery before the age of one, she would die. Maritza was very worried. She had never heard of this condition before. She did not have the resources to travel to the U.S.  There were no other options for surgical treatment in Honduras.  She was desperate to help her child so she started looking for answers.  She contacted a group in Honduras that sends children to Mexico; however, this entailed many visits to a local clinic with no results.   In recalling the story, Hilary’s mom said,  “God led me to ask for help.  When a medical group led by Ronaldo came to Guayape seven months later, I asked that Hilary be examined.”   Hilary was 10 months old when a medical mission group from Geisinger Hospital was in rural Honduras doing primary care. Hilary was brought to the clinic; her mother was pleading for someone to help her baby, who was quite sick and very blue at the time.  One of the pediatricians on the trip, with Ronaldo’s help, contacted Dr. Gilbert by ham radio (cell phones where not available in Honduras at that time) asking him to offer assistance to the baby. Dr. Gilbert responded immediately with a “yes” and told them to get Hilary to him ASAP.   Little did he know she would be the first of hundreds of Honduran children for whom he would provide surgical treatment.

When Maritza got the news that her baby would receive help, she felt tremendous relief.   Ronaldo asked Maritza if she had the courage to travel to the U.S. She said she would do anything for her daughter. Arrangements were made for Hilary and her mother to travel immediately to the U.S.   Two surgeries were performed during this first of two trips.  The first surgery was performed on March 6th, 2001. After surgery Hilary grew very sick. She was vomiting and her nail beds turned blue. She was taken to the emergency room where Dr. Gilbert performed a second surgery. Hilary and her mother were in the U.S. for two months in total.

About 4 years later Hilary and her mother returned to the U.S.  for another surgery. Dr. Gilbert placed a conduit that routes blood from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery, which gives the needed blood to the lungs.  They were in the U.S. for 25 days.

As a result of these contacts, a program was later started to assist many more children in Honduras.  Through the efforts of Gift of Life, Helping Hands, and the International Children’s Heart Foundation, a program to perform pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and educate the local staff was started in September of 2008.    Dr. Gilbert and a group of ICHF volunteers have just completed their 9^thmission to Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Hilary is now 11 years old and her conduit has become obstructed.  She was able to receive her fourth of what we hope is the last surgery in her own country with mother and grandmother by her side.   She is doing wonderfully.    Maritza talks about Hilary with tremendous joy and pride. “Hilary is an exceptional student. Her favorite subject is math. She would like to grow up to be a doctor. She is also very creative. She likes to play with dolls, apply make-up and style hair.”  She goes on to say how Dr. Gilbert and Hilary have stayed in close contact over the years.  Whenever Dr. Gilbert visits Honduras, Hilary and her mother come to the hospital to say hello. Dr. Gilbert is very devoted to Hilary as well. He always asks about her. It is clear that he cares for her deeply.

When asked what she thinks about Dr. Gilbert’s decision to treat Honduran children in Honduras as opposed to the U.S., Maritza says: “I think it’s much better, since more children have the opportunity to receive an operation. When children are sent to the U.S., only a few can go at one time. When Dr. Gilbert comes to Honduras, he can operate on many more. This is a tremendous service, since there are so many children in need of heart operations.” Maritza cannot find words powerful enough to express her gratitude for what Dr. Gilbert has achieved for Hilary and others. She says, “After God, Dr. Gilbert has been a salvation for my daughter. Dr. Gilbert has a very kind heart.” Ms. Castro hopes that Dr. Gilbert continues to find the necessary support to help children like Hilary.