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Angelica has a rare form of critical heart disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy
Although the four-year-old Angelica Fernandez looks like an ordinary playful child, the scars all over her body tell a different story.
In the past six months, Angelica has undergone several painful and unpleasant operations to survive. However, unless she underwent a heart transplant, the doctor only gave her about one year of life.
Angelica has a rare and critical heart disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy. Her heart muscle becomes weak and cannot pump blood normally. The result is that blood accumulates around the heart and liver area, causing swelling of both organs.
Her mother, Sherry Fernandes (Sherry Fernandes) said the torture began in February, when she noticed that the child’s belly was beginning to look unusually large. When she discussed this issue with her relatives, they thought it was a trivial matter, saying, “At this age, the child is growing up, so the belly looks a little bigger.” Some people even accused her of letting her children wear their pants too low.
After a while, Shirley (Angelika’s mother) noticed that her daughter’s belly button had begun to protrude in an abnormal way, so she went to a nearby clinic and advised them to have an ultrasound. An ultrasound scan showed that Angelica’s heart had expanded because it was surrounded by a large amount of liquid.
“We were taken to Al Jalila Hospital, where we were told that she had a rare heart disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy. Over time, the ventricles became stiff, making it harder for the heart to pump blood to the body. The blood then flows back in the circulatory system. This causes fluid accumulation in the body,” said Angelika’s father Dennis, who works as an administrative officer in Dubai.
Although the only way to save Angelika’s life is to have a heart transplant, which costs about $150,000, the first thing the doctors do is drain the fluid around her heart.
“The doctor used catheterization to remove fluid around the heart area. They also gave her oral medication to drain the excess fluid that had accumulated in the stomach. The doctor also performed an open-heart surgery on the four-year-old child for another heart attack. Surgery and see if it helps. But nothing worked. The parents were instructed to take the child to India (because it was the most recent) for her heart transplant,” Dennis added.
“No child should go through what my child has to go through,” said her mother Shirley, who said that in the past few months, there has not been a day when she didn’t see her child crying through painful medication and surgery.
From the chest to the thighs (where the doctor placed the brace), to her neck (where the biopsy was performed), Xiao Angelica’s body was covered with wounds. In addition to some of the drugs that the child must take every day, she must also be injected morning and evening.
“My daughter used to like to go out, but now she is afraid to go out because she thinks we will take her to the hospital for examination or treatment,” Shirley said.
Receive treatment in India
In addition to worrying about the funding of the operation, Pakistani expats were also told that since the UAE does not have a child heart surgery specialist or hospital, they must fly to India to complete the complicated and urgent heart transplant.
“Because of the inability to obtain the expertise required to perform this complicated and urgent operation locally, our family has been referred to the Apollo Hospital in India. The initial cost of the entire treatment is US$150,000. If the necessary treatment is not promoted, According to the doctor who diagnosed her condition, Angelica has almost no chance of survival and the estimated life span is only one year,” Dennis said.
The Indian consulate is also supporting the couple and is facilitating the visa process so that treatment will not be delayed.
“Our savings have been spent, and most of our family’s monthly income is spent on our daughter’s medical expenses. In addition, in order to take care of our daughter, my wife will soon need to quit her career. We are mentally. Both are exhausted financially and urgently need the sponsorship of benevolent donors to support the treatment.
The Fernandez family maintains contact with St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oud Maitha, which helps to facilitate the necessary coordination of medical experts related to Angelica treatment.
saman@khaleejtimes.com
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