Little hearts on the mend

Patients Viktor, Sharon and Sheba from earlier on in the week are now up and about! Everyone is getting along and having a great time playing and taking care of each other. Loha; a one and a half year old from Kerrima South Province had been resting in ICU for the past two days and is now on the ward moving around. She is chatting and eating…lots and lots of eating for all the growing she will now have to do! Katie the Open Heart International (OHI) physiotherapist and ward nurses Emma and Susan have had their day full of playing while working with the local staff. By all reports things are going very well on the ward.

Young patient, Prince is moving out of ICU today and onto the ward as he starts to move around in between resting. Recovering from a big surgery is a trial for anyone, especially from the ages of Prince, nearly 2.5 years old and one month old baby, Shimeidodo.

Theatre is only able to do one case today due to bed availability. Two patients from previous days will need extra monitoring in intensive care due to the work they had done. The ICU team of Sam, Simon and Cara, along with the hospital staff are giving around the clock attention to make sure recovery is as good as it can possibly be.

The resilience of the children here is constantly amazing, even to those that have been coming for many, many years and have worked in many, many countries. All the patients are up and out of bed as soon as possible, and then onto the ward and moving and playing around. The medical team cannot help but comment on how much soreness and pain the kids must go through, but the kids don’t seem to let it get in their way at all. While it isn’t always smiles, everyone from the staff to the patients parents are giving it everything they possibly can. This is to ensure the littles ones have every chance to mend their little broken hearts and make a full recovery and then begin their new lives!