This fragile and humble soul you see in the photo was the recipient of our 29th surgery, a young girl whose story speaks louder than words. Once a friendly, humorous 17- year-old, full of light and laughter, she slowly faded into weakness as Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) took hold of her body. She had the severe kind of Mitral valve stenosis and tricuspid valve regurgitation with additional intraop diagnosis of Atrial septal defect.
This image is more than just a photo — it’s a pictorial representation of how poverty, lack of awareness, and a struggling health system are failing thousands of children on the long waiting list. Her condition, like so many others, began with untreated tonsillitis , a simple illness that escalated into a life-threatening heart disease due to lack of timely care.
But thanks to the compassionate hearts behind Healing Valves Ethiopia (HVE), Mitral valve was replaced, the tricuspid valve was repaired and closure of Atrioseptal defect was done.
