It’s been over a year since Victor Paz M.D., Honduras’ only pediatric cardiovascular surgeon, died tragically in a car accident. The country continues to mourn his loss, and the list has grown to 370 children waiting for life saving cardiac operations. Twenty five percent of childhood mortality is related to deadly but treatable congenital heart disease. Sadly, hundreds have already passed the opportunity to have clinically safe treatment, and will die prematurely.

Itzel is one of the fortunate ones who is receiving medical care at Hospital Maria in Tegucigalpa, the only public pediatric hospital equipped with a “Heart Unit” for heart catheterizations and surgeries. Thankfully, World Pediatric Project has changed from being a care provider to a trusted partner with Hospital Maria and they have been sending medical brigades for children desperately in need of medical treatment.

Three year old Itzel has undergone two heart catheterizations and one open heart surgery. These procedures have offered temporary improvement but her physicians from St. Louis, MO are continuing to study her case, investigating her family’s cardiac history, and hoping to do some genetic testing, which isn’t available in Honduras. Itzel’s parents’ lives are constantly filled with fears of her health, great expectations that her heart will be healed, disappointments when the hospital workers are on strike. Living in poverty is stressful enough but having a sick child who has growth and nutritional challenges and is prone to infections exasperates the feelings.

The lyrics below are my hope for Itzel, and so many children who are urgently in need of life saving medical care.