Girl’s heart condition worries mother
The joy that comes with raising a bouncing baby has eluded Mzuzu-based Jane Kumbale who has had to battle anguish over her daughter’s chronic heart condition.
Kumbale said the girl, three-year-old Dyna Tanganyika, has two holes in her heart, a condition she said needs specialist treatment in South Africa at a cost of about K2.5 million.
Diagnosed with the problem in 2011, Dyna is surviving on daily doses of frusemide tablets.
“In the absence of the medicines, her muscles become weak; she just falls down, she fails even to stand on her own and struggles to breathe normally. Usually, she gasps for air through the mouth,” said Kumbale, 27.
She said the problem began in October 2010, four months after the girl’s birth. But the condition has persisted in spite of the medication she receives from Mzuzu Central Hospital (MCH).
“She was showing signs of asthma. Every time we visited the hospital, they would give her amoxicillin. But she showed no signs of getting better. The doctors, surprised by her resistance to drugs, conducted an X-ray.
“That’s when they discovered that she has two holes in her heart; one is large, the other is small. They said the heart fails to pump blood normally. They told me that the girl needs to undergo a heart operation which is not possible in Malawi but in South Africa,” said Kumbale.
The medical report, dated August 9 2011, reads: “LVED 14.9mm (DT) and 18.9mm (ST), both small. RV [Right ventricle] looks enlarged 17.5mm (normal 12-15mm). LA [Left atrium] also small 8.7mm (normal 15-21).”
MCH spokesperson Twambilire Simkonda confirmed that the hospital has been treating the girl.
“The doctor suspected that she may have holes in the heart. He recommended that she should go for ultra-sound. But the records don’t indicate that she has holes. They show that she has a cardiac problem. The drug helps her heart to function properly,” said Simkonda.
But he said he is not aware that the girl was referred to South Africa for surgery.
“Normally, referral cases to other countries go through the External Referral Committee for approval and government foots the bills. But with that case, I need to check in our records,” he said.
But Kumbale is worried that her daughter is not showing signs of improving.
“My daughter is growing with her condition and she doesn’t show signs of getting better. That is why I ask well-wishers to help. With our small-scale business, we can’t raise the money to take her to South Africa for the operation,” she said.
Kumbale said finding medication for Dyna has also affected the family’s income.
“Sometimes the hospital runs out of the drugs Dyna takes everyday as recommended by doctors. This forces us to buy the drug in pharmacies at K1 500. We were also advised to give her milk every day. This is expensive for my family,” she said.
