Heart disease patients in quandary

FAITH Mashindi from How Mine on the outskirts of Bulawayo is 13 months old and she has Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), a condition where the heart develops holes that need an operation to correct.

Locally, she has sought help but to no avail and she was referred to India where she was quoted US$15 000 for the operation alone, minus air fares, food and accommodation. Her mother Mrs Chiedza Mashindi, like many others with children with CHD in Bulawayo and surrounding areas, can only hope help can be accessed locally as they cannot afford to raise money needed for treatment abroad. Mrs Mashindi was at pains to narrate the challenges children with CHD face.

“The problems that are associated with this condition is that she (Faith) always has high temperature and she cannot tolerate harsh weather like too much sun, wind or cold as this makes her ill and she cannot breathe well. Medication is another challenge, some of the drugs such as Furosemide and Captopril are expensive. I cannot afford to buy them regularly and as of last month I spent a week without the drugs and my daughter’s life was at risk,” she said.

Another challenge is that she has a special diet which is expensive. Mpilo Central Hospital, the biggest referral hospital in the southern part of the country, last carried out CHD operations almost 13 years ago before the only cardiac specialist left around 2016.

Mpilo Central Hospital clinical director Dr Solwayo Ngwenya told Sunday News that they can only offer limited assistance to patients suffering from CHD.

“We can check the heart and diagnose the problem but we cannot carry out heart surgery. We actually refer to other centres like Harare. We last carried out surgery about 13 years ago as the last one was done around 2006/2007. The specialist we had retired and that was it,” he said.

Dr Ngwenya said Mpilo Central Hospital was once a centre of excellence and was the best in Southern Africa for CHD.

“At one point we were the best in the region so the gradual deterioration and degrading of hospitals has got us where we are today. We used to be the best. If we want that status back, we need to start again by getting required specialists and equipment,” he said.

Mothers of children with CHD, however, lamented that an Echocardiogram (ECG) scan which is a graphic outline of the heart movement is done far from the paediatric ward at the hospital and parents have had to remove their children from oxygen supply in order to access it at a different unit of the hospital.

The clinical director said over time the hospital will look into the issue. He said the immediate focus was to ensure that Mpilo Central regains its past status.

“My hope is that we improve the services and be a centre of excellence again so that we can treat all heart conditions and we do not have to refer to Harare. We were supposed to be a quaternary centre where you treat all cases at one place. We need that back.”

Meanwhile, a Bulawayo woman Ms Tendai Moyo has formed Brave Little Hearts, an organisation meant to cater for those with children suffering from CHD, after she lost her daughter Rudorwashe in October last year through a heart condition.

“We appealed for aid through the media for her to undergo corrective surgery but she was unfortunate and passed away before she could get the help. I then thought of the suffering that

I had gone through and decided to liaise with other affected mothers in order for us to speak with one voice as we had a common cause,” she said.

Ms Moyo said she discovered her daughter had a problem soon after she was born.

“When I gave birth to Rudorwashe I was told she had Cyanosis as she had dark lips. Cyanosis is the name given for poor oxygen circulation in the blood that causes discoloration of the skin. She also had a big body and would breathe heavily,” she said.

Ms Moyo said the organisation which is still in the process of being registered seeks to partner with all stakeholders who are interested in CHD so that they help in information dissemination.

“We have people who come from places like Inyathi, How Mine, Tsholotsho and other areas who have to travel to Mpilo Central Hospital to access these services like the Echocardiogram scan.

“However, after coming all the way they are told that it is fully booked. Such things frustrate a parent even the child as the child cannot constantly travel due to the condition.

“We are asking if we could partner with the hospital as an organisation and we aid in processing bookings for mothers who are part of us so that they travel to Bulawayo only when they are sure they are booked,” she added.

In what seems to be a glimmer of hope for the parents with children who have CHD, Italian doctors visit Zimbabwe each year in November in Mutoko, Mashonaland East province to assess the children where a few selected are flown to Italy for the lifesaving operations. All Souls Mission (Luisa Guiddotti) Hospital sees children that will have booked in advance as the doctors are not always available.

All Souls Mission (Catholic run) was founded by the Jesuits in 1930. The Dominican Sisters came to the Mission in 1932 and later opened a hospital. Since 1985 the hospital is sending paediatric cardiac patients (affected by congenital diseases and acquired conditions which required valves replacements) to Italy for heart operations.

The patients, who would have not been able to be operated in Zimbabwe, after being operated in Italy, are hosted by some volunteer families. After the period of rehabilitation, they return to Zimbabwe and follow up is continued on a periodical basis at Luisa Guidotti Hospital. Since 1985, more than 400 patients from the hospital have been referred to Italy. This year, the Italian doctors will be in Zimbabwe on 14 and 15 November.