Ayesha Haynes is running and jumping since the operation to her heart that saved her life was done in Guyana. The surgery has given her much more to look forward to since she turned seven.
The hole in then six-year-old Ayesha’s heart has been mended and she is happy to be pain-free.
The Christ Church Girls’ student, who was diagnosed in 2006 with atrial septal defect, a flaw between the heart’s two upper chambers, complained of constant chest pains and became shy and withdrawn.
Originally, the family had wanted to have the amplexter septal occluder operation needed to save her life, and optimise the quality of the life she lives done at the Miami Children’s Hospital.
Ayesha’s mother, Tricia Haynes, did not want open-heart surgery done, as Ayesha had told her she believed if her chest was cut she would die.
Public contributions fell short after a letter was sent to the press saying the operation could be carried out locally.
But through the help of Dr Alfred Sparman, the surgery was done earlier in Guyana at its Public Hospital. Now Ayesha is back at school and playing.
“It was done through Dr Sparman, who contacted his friend Gary Stephens in Guyana, who called some friends from the United States; it was cheaper to do it there. Sparman covered it through his clinic,” Haynes said.
“Everyone was helpful; and by the grace of God we got it done. I had a lot of faith; the neighbours, the church, everyone was praying for her,” she said.
Ayesha said she was happy she was not in pain any more, and especially so because she does not have a scar.
The Caribbean Heart Institute, located in the Georgetown Public Hospital, East and New Market Streets in Georgetown, Guyana, was commissioned by then President Bharrat Jagdeo in 2004.
The mission of the organisation is dedicated to improving the quality of cardiac care in the Region by providing access to surgical care and training local medical staff.
Throughout the years, many small medical teams have volunteered their skills and time and have made major contributions to the cause.
Head of the Unit, Dr Gary Stephens, is of the belief that the entity has the capability to even save the life of a heart attack victim.
According to the doctor, once an individual who suffers a heart attack is able to reach CHI within the standard 90-minute timeframe, chances are that individual’s life could be saved.
The doctor said that a heart attack could be dealt with immediately with the insertion of a stent, the latest of which is available at the CHI, which could temporise the problem until a surgery can be performed, if needed, which is a rarity because the stenting procedure has become very effective.
Dr Stephens said that appreciation must be rendered to the government for the realisation of this feature at the Institute because heart care patients had to formerly wait for this operation for about six weeks. Now they don’t have to wait at all.
Dr Stephens said that he is still surprised that many Guyanese are still seeking cardiac services outside of Guyana, although it is readily available here at a fraction of the cost they would pay overseas, considering airfare and accommodation costs.
While he is still dependent on the skills of foreign doctors to assist his operations at the Institute, Dr Stephens is optimistic that soon he will only need the assistance of local professionals.
On one trip alone Dr Stephens and a team of doctors were able to complete operations that included valve replacements, heart by-passes and the insertion of a pacemaker.
Despite  constant criticisms of the PPP/C government by the perennial naysayers and doomsayers, successive administrations of that party have continued to point this nation on a development trajectory that has seen every sector of this country moving toward meeting and overtaking all the MDGs, some of which have already been achieved, in spite of the many ploys and attempts by the political opportunists in the opposition, and their supportive satellites in the media and NGO fraternity.
In the health sector, again despite the political opposition’s attempts to derail this initiative, the specialty hospital that will enable Guyanese affordable tertiary health care, and even generate income from health tourism, will soon come on stream.