Austin, Texas, Mar 7, 2009 / 12:31 pm
Luidgy Virgile is a beautiful 2-year-old boy from Haiti. His dark curly hair, ready smile and rambunctious, energetic spirit make people warm to him immediately. However, just six months ago, Luidgy’s parents were terrified of losing him because he had a congenital heart defect. But, thanks to the grace of God, a local nonprofit organization, and physicians in Central Texas, Luidgy’s heart has been successfully treated, and he can look forward to a long and healthy life.
In March 2008, Luidgy was diagnosed with an atrial septal defect, a hole between the upper chambers of his heart. The oxygenated blood and non-oxygenated blood were blending inside his heart. He also had an atrial flutter –– an irregular heartbeat. His symptoms included fatigue and trouble breathing.
Luidgy needed surgical procedures to fix these problems, but this type of surgery is not done in Haiti. In addition, Luidgy’s parents could not afford to travel to another country and pay the high medical fees for their son. Elika, Luidgy’s mother, is a law student, and his father is a policeman.
“When the doctors in Haiti said Luidgy had to be operated on, we didn’t have the money to have an operation,” Elika said. “We thought we would lose him.”