News of Abdou, a little miracle boy who has come a long way
Sometimes life works miracles for the children we take care of and here is a story, Abdourahamane's story, which is a marvellous illustration of what all together we can offer to cardiac children at the end of the world.
Abdourahamane was born in 2012, in Baboul Goronbain, Niger, a village in the "cambrousse" that you won't even find on Google Maps. Born into a (very) large family, to a father who sold tea and bread, and a mother who was a housewife, little Abdou's life didn't get off to a good start. At the age of 4, our referring doctor diagnosed him with a heart defect. For the past 4 years, this little fellow had been unable to grow and develop normally, so breathless and malnourished was he.
Suffering from Tetralogy of Fallot, Abdou is what used to be called a "blue child". This means that an abnormal communication between the two ventricles of his heart, combined with a narrowing of the pulmonary artery, led to cyanosis and fatigue on exertion.
Weighing just 9kg at almost 5 years old, Abdou had to be evacuated to France in November 2016 as quickly as possible, otherwise he risked a lot.
The plane journey was not easy. A volunteer doctor, in addition to the Aviations sans frontières courier, was on hand to make sure Abdou had no problems during the flight.
At Roissy, his host family waited impatiently for the arrival of the plane from Niamey to take Abdou in and transfer him directly to hospital.
Thanks to our generous donors, Abdou was able to undergo heart surgery at the Marie Lannelongue hospital, but the after-effects were long and complicated. Danielle and Serge, his foster parents, looked after their little protégé day and night, and didn't count the trips back and forth between the hospital, the convalescence center and their home. A lesson in courage and optimism!
After 4 months in France and a conclusive post-operative consultation at the Association, Pr Francine Leca gave the go-ahead for Abdou to return home and start a second life.
Giving a child a new lease on life is never easy, but Abdourahamane's story bears witness to the miracles that can be achieved by the great chain of solidarity of which you may be a part if you have already made a donation or helped the Association. Many thanks!
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