A ray of hope to patients with heart problems

By MUBATSI ASINJA HABATI
Published October 25, 2009

Nina Nahabwe (in a white T-shirt) and other children who have undergone open heart surgeries with the help of Gift of Life sing to an audience at a conference organized by Uganda Heart Institute and Gift of Life International in Kampala recently.

A Kampala resident Nina Nahabwe underwent an open heart surgery in the United States of America in 2003 when she was 11-years-old. Nahabwe’s parents would not have afforded the cost of the heart surgery, had the Kampala and Kyambogo Rotary clubs in collaboration with Gift of Life International (GOLI) – a rotary group from overseas, not chipped in to help.

“I have put on weight, and I’m strong now,” Nahabwe said. “Before the surgery, I could hardly do anything because I was very weak. I kept in bed most of the time. But now I feel good.” Nahabwe, 17, is now in Form two, and hopes to pursue a career as a heart surgeon on completing high school.

Robinah Nakabuye, was the second to undergo heart surgery in Uganda’s history in 1977. She had a second chance in life after the Rotary Club of Kampala sent her to the US for an open heart surgery. Doctors in Uganda discovered that her heart had a hole, and recommended surgery. But that surgery could not be done in cash-strapped Uganda, where resources and personnel were not readily available, and the doctors suggested the US. Thanks to the Rotary Club, Nakabuye sought treatment in Manhattan, New York, where doctors also discovered that she had clots in her head, which also required another surgery.

“Doctors were amazed because her case was peculiar, so they retained her for six months under observation,” said Bigirwa Augustine, a senior Rotarian, who narrated Nakabuye’s story because she was too overwhelmed by emotions to speak to the audience at a conference organized by Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) and GOLI in Kampala recently.

“It is so challenging to wake up in the morning, and discover that you need heart surgery, yet you have no money,” Nakabuye said. “You need kind-hearted people to contribute to your second chance in life.”

Although Nahabwe and Nakabuye are amongst the lucky few to undergo open heart surgery in countries such as China, India, US, Dominican Republic, Italy, Jordan, Russia, and South Korea, many other Ugandans grappling with heart problems have not been able to get the necessary treatment. This is why GOLI is teaming up with UHI, to train local doctors to perform open heart surgeries in Uganda to the help save lives of poor people, who cannot afford the hefty cost of heart surgeries abroad.

It is estimated that an open heart surgery costs about Ushs53million (US$25,000) in many countries abroad, which is beyond the reach of millions of Ugandans. However, if such operations were done at the Heart Institute at Mulago Hospital, Uganda’s biggest referral hospital, it would save patients about Ushs 38 million (US$18,000).

Rob Raylman, executive director of Gift of Life International holds one of the kids that underwent heart surgery with help of his organisation

“Doing the operation here would cost Ushs15million (US$7,000), instead of the Ushs53million (US$25,000) in South Korea, if one were to be sent to the hospital where our colleagues come from,” said Dr Tom Mwambu, a consultant physician at the UHI.

A total of 70 cases of heart surgery are expected at Heart Institute in the next one year, thanks to GOLI and UHI. GOLI will outsource the best cardiologists from developed countries to train and help Ugandan heart specialists to perform heart surgery. The Ugandan government has welcomed the move, and promised to increase its support to the UHI, said Dr Sam Zaramba, director general of health services at Uganda’s Ministry of Health.

Rob Raylman, executive director of GOLI, said Uganda has a few skilled heart surgeons, who need to be motivated. “There are skilled doctors at the Heart Institute,” he said. “There are people out there, helping others, not because they know them, but because they have good hearts, and are willing to help the ailing. This is what we need to emulate to give life to those who need it. We do not save the child but we save ourselves.”

Grace Agwal, the first Ugandan to have a heart surgery abroad through the support of GOLI said, “Now, because of Gift of Life, I am able to stand before you. My life has changed. I have studied, helped my parents, and my community. We are here to say thank you for giving us the gift to life.” She added that she has also been helping children with heart problems by arranging for their travel abroad for surgery.

Over the years, the Heart Institute at Mulago Hospital has managed to perform heart surgeries with the help of oversees doctors despite challenges of ill equipment, and poorly paid staff. Recently, Dr John Omagino, who is the director of UHI, told to the Ugandan parliament that unless the government addresses the issue of doctors’ low pay, the country will continue to lose its best doctors to countries where remuneration is high. He noted that Uganda has already lost a surgeon to Rwanda and two nurses to the United Kingdom, where pay is better.

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