Paediatric heart surgeries at GPH
THE US medical team now in Guyana conducting paediatric heart surgeries at the Georgetown Public Hospital has certainly made a difference in the lives of the children and their families.
A team of medical professionals, including several cardiologists and surgeons from the United States are doing the heart surgeries, in collaboration with the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI),with US-based Guyanese philanthropist George Subraj, being very instrumental in having the team here. This was evident when the Guyana Chronicle caught up yesterday afternoon with Petal McKenzie, the relieved mother of 17-month-old Keandrea Daniels, who hails from Madhia.
She declared that the surgery will change her daughter’s life drastically, stating, “Now everything is fine…thank God for that.”
“I want to say thank you to all the sponsors even, though we already told them thank you face to face, including Zara, who have put together the money to make this surgery possible. We will like to say thank you, thank you very much because it would have cost us a lot which we cannot afford,” she stated.
She explained, “Last year November/December, the doctor that came in said that she has to do the surgery within six months because we don’t know what could happen, and this month is the sixth month.”
Mc Kenzie noted that her daughter is doing fine, and will be leaving to go home soon, and there will be follow-up checks.
Also, Nichole Wilkinson, of Pouderoeyen, West Coast Demerara, the mother of six-year-old Jeneen Henry, couldn’t express enough how grateful she is for the intervention.
“I am so grateful for what they have done because if we had waited longer, they say she should have the surgery within two years, and we don’t know how long it would have taken me to get her this help, ” she emphasised.

She said it is like giving her child a new life.
Wilkinson also wholeheartedly extended thanks to the main sponsor, Mr. George Subraj, for his tremendous support, and also the others who made the intervention a reality.
She said they are giving her all “the attention and are so careful with the children”, and checking regularly to see if everything is okay with them, and then there is the good work being done by the nurses.

Surgeries have been done on Nirvanie Browne, and Shahel Griffith both age eleven; Udesh Ragubar, age two; and Bharrat Narine, who this newspaper learnt was sent home yesterday.
It was learnt that Nalini Persaud, 14, underwent surgery, and up to press time, the family of 23 year-old Avinash Sonam, who was in the operating room, was at the hospital.

Subraj who has been deemed a man of true humanitarian qualities was also instrumental in initiating Guyana’s first kidney transplant on Munesh Mangal almost two years ago.