Two-year-old in dire need of heart surgery

"I can't sit and watch my daughter die" said Taneisha Whyte-Anderson. The mother has been actively trying to secure a spot for her daughter Keona Anderson to undergo a heart surgery at the Bustamante Hospital for Children since last November.

Keona was diagnosed with tricuspid artesia at birth, a defect that prevents the formation of the tricuspid valve which is needed for blood flow throughout the heart.

Keona, now two, did a surgery at birth and a shunt was placed in her heart. However, she has outgrown the shunt and needs an urgent replacement. But the mother said she was told there is no available space.

"They say they can't give me a space for surgery because other persons were there before now. Their latest excuse is COVID but the section where the operation should be done is suppose to be sterile so that shouldn't be an issue," Whyte-Anderson told THE STAR. The ineffective shunt is taking its toll on little Keona.

"Right now it is causing her to get tired easily without having to do little or any movement with frequent blue spells," Whyte-Anderson said. Recalling her daughter's struggle with the defect, she said that it was a miracle she made it at birth.

"She was born at the University Hospital and they had some issues with performing the surgery. God was so good to us and doctor at Bustamante assisted us with a bed in the Intensive Care Unit and she did the surgery in February 2018 and she recovered well," she said.

The distressed, Spanish Town, St Catherine, resident said Keona's nephew died from the same condition.

"My husband's eldest daughter had a son who would have been three this year, but he died from the same thing, and he was displaying the same symptoms as my daughter. When his autopsy was done, it show that his shunt was clogged up with his blood as it could no longer support him; it was too small," said Whyte-Anderson.

The situation at hand is also affecting her productivity as a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

"This is taking a toll on my work and health. I can't focus and my blood pressure is sky high because I have to watch my baby die," she said. "Thursday was the last I went there and they tell me I still have to wait and there is still no date."

Meanwhile, CEO at the hospital, Camile Panton, said she will be making checks to have the issue resolved.

"I will get details from the cardiologist so we know how to move further, but I do empathise with the mother and ask for her to visit Patient Affairs," said Panton.