Hole in Her Heart

Let me introduce you to the cutest LITTLE girl you will ever meet...

 Namukwaya Shakira  

Age: She will make 4 years this month (August 2013)

Weight: 7 kg (expected weight for a child her age: a minimum of 11 kg)

Condition: Shakira had an echo in April of this year.  The results showed that she has a large secundum ASD (hole between the atriums of the heart) with a Left to Right Shunt.  She has dilated right heart chambers and has mild Pulmonary Hypertension which is a complication to her heart condition

Need for surgery: Urgent.  Shakira’s overall strength has decreased over the last several months.  About two weeks ago, she was started on a high calorie, high protein supplement and this has resulted in an increase in energy.  It is the hope that this supplement will give her body the calories that it needs to maintain her.  

She stole all our hearts, but Shakira was Alea's special girl for our 2 weeks at New Hope. She lives at the clinic so they can monitor her, but during the day she roams around like a free spirit, basically doing whatever she wants because the staff are all busy. So every chance she got, Alea went to hang out with her, keep her entertained, filling in as a "babysitter". 

Shakira LOVED the extra attention and Alea's fun ideas for games, etc. Here Alea made her a mask out of a banana leaf. Shakira thought it was the greatest thing! 

Feeding her Plumpy Nut (Joey & I had learned about it years ago from Doctors Without Borders). They just started her on it right before our team came and they said she's perked up and has so much more energy from it!

Such a goofball....(she stole one of the staff's flip flops; note the wrong feet ;)

Could she be any cuter???

Alea pleads with you to PLEASE help save her new special friend's life! Any donations you would make towards her surgery are tax deductible through New Hope Uganda. Email us if you are interested in giving this little life new hope!

You can also read about her and 3 other girls from New Hope waiting for donations before they can have life saving heart surgery at: www.newhopeuganda.org. There story is #5 (click on the numbered boxes until you find it). There is a link on there for donations.