GUYANA does not conduct routine heart surgeries because of its lack of cardiothoracic surgeons but, 30-year-old Dr. Avlon Jeffery hopes to be the change that turns the tide in the right direction.

Dr. Jeffery is a general practitioner at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he has been employed for the last four years. He recently sat down with the Guyana Chronicle to tell his story of how he ignored the stigma associated with his community, Mocha, pushed to achieve his dreams, and is now reaching for more.

For as long as he can remember, he had always wanted to become a doctor. His interest in cardiology, however, developed during his studies in Cuba, after a patient was rushed into the hospital following a gruesome accident and he locked eyes with the patient’s beating heart.

“He had trauma to his chest and his entire sternum was separated and, from the outside, you could actually see in his chest and you saw the dynamic of how the heart was squeezing and, for me, that was it, that was when I knew that the heart was where I wanted to be,” he said.

He had left for studies in the Spanish-speaking country at the young age of 17, made possible through a scholarship from the government. However, after graduating, Dr. Jeffery returned home to the limitations of Guyana’s healthcare system.

At the GPHC, there are two clinics which manage heart patients: the Cardiology Clinic and the Heart Function Clinic. The hospital sees patients in relation to heart attacks, heart failure, congenital heart disease and valvular heart disease with just over 1,000 patients on scheduled visits for heart-related issues. However, the GPHC does not conduct routine heart surgeries.

Dr. Jeffery said: “We’re still very young in medicine. We still have a very far away to go. We don’t do routine heart surgeries in Guyana. We probably do a few if we have a visiting team, probably from the U.S. or Canada, whatever the case might be. So, it’s difficult to know that your patient requires more but there’s only so much you can do,” said Dr. Jeffery.

The GPHC instead performs simple procedures such as placing a stent for a heart attack patient. Patients requiring more complex surgeries such as a heart transplant, must seek surgical help overseas. This is owed to the lack of a routine cardiothoracic surgeon in Guyana.

Dr. Jeffery is on a mission to change this, beginning with himself. His current goal is to return to Cuba on another scholarship to study to become a cardiothoracic surgeon.

A DREAM

“That’s one of the areas I definitely want to pursue, that’s actually what I want to do,” he said. “My dream is to soon leave to pursue that. Of course, like everyone else, coronavirus has affected doctors too. Borders are closed, we can’t travel… but my next big plan to pursue my cardiovascular surgery programme.”

Even as he is optimistic that he will be successful in his studies, Dr. Jeffery also looks forward to a time when Guyanese no longer have to travel overseas to study such progammes and where all persons, no matter their financial challenges, can have access to education.

“I think what young people need done for them is the lowering of costs. It’s not easy to study medicine at home, I can tell you that. I started out at the University of Guyana doing biology but when it was time to do medicine I couldn’t afford it so I had to take a scholarship. I think if we can make it more cost effective for the youths, youths that really want to pursue the area, that would be definitely a place to start,” he said.

The general practitioner also recommends that more scholarships are offered to groups that are less privileged. Looking back at his childhood and growing up in Mocha, Dr. Jeffery realises that he had to withstand the stigma placed on his community, financial challenges and the guaranteed ups and downs of life to be able to stand where he does today.

He does not believe that any child or youth should be disenfranchised simply for where he/she was born or what financial class he/she was born into. He encourages others who may be contemplating following their dreams to reach for it, despite the negativity that might surround them.

The doctor said: “You have to follow your dreams. Even when I wanted to leave and study, persons would have told me ‘you want to go and be a doctor? For what?’ You have to hold on to your dreams, it’s not about people, it’s about you and it’s about what your plans are for your future. Nobody’s going to come and give anything to you, you need to go and pursue what you want… don’t worry about the time, time will pass, six/seven years. I’d rather spend that time following my dream than waiting on something that somebody might have promised me.”

As doctor with a love for the heart, Dr. Jeffery also left some words of advice to the average Guyanese. He said that there are many tell-tale signs for heart complications that persons should pay attention to guard against an impaired quality of life or even death.

SYMPTOMS

For example, the symptoms to look out for when one is experiencing a heart attack are a squeezing, sticking or burning pain in the middle of the chest; a numb arm; sudden onset coughing and shortness of breath.

Meanwhile, he said that many are in the habit of ignoring key symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pains or even known heart challenges, visiting the hospital only when their conditions have far worsened. He recommends that more persons utilise the health centres in their communities when unsure about changes in their health.

“That’s one thing that patients don’t do. Everybody comes to Georgetown Public Hospital, nobody wants to go to the health centre and so forth but, if we use our primary healthcare for initial symptoms, I think we can tackle these are complications that would arise later,” he advised.

To improve and maintain heart health, he also urged citizens to adapt a healthy diet, exercise regularly and control their comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes which can lead to a heart attack in the future. He reminded that anyone can suffer from a heart attack.

He said: “We’ve been seeing, recently, even the younger population suffering from heart attacks because of alcohol use, drug use, recreational drugs, even marijuana. These can all precipitate the events that can cause a heart attack. It’s not just the obese, it’s not just the old, it’s not just the chronic smoker anymore. Of course, these are all factors that would put you at worse risk but we see it in everybody these days.”

Until the borders reopen and he’s able to pursue his further studies, Dr. Jeffery urges Guyanese to stay safe amidst the pandemic, monitor their health through health checkups and to reach for their dreams.