Mission Cameroun: news from children!
Remember, from 26 March to 3 April, a team from Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque went on a mission to Yaoundé, Cameroon. Each day, the team met two types of patients in the consultation room: children waiting for a diagnosis, and others, already operated on, as part of their follow-up. Today, we give you news about 4 of them!
At Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, we attach the utmost importance to following up children who have undergone surgery for the rest of their lives. During our mission, we saw 82 little hearts already operated on. Among them Lionelle, Simon, Abdoulaye and Adrien Noé, who are all in great shape and have grown up well.
Lionelle
When Lionelle arrived, we immediately recognized the sweet little girl we had taken in 3 years earlier. Following her heart operation in 2019, Lionelle had been the star for a day, during a photo shoot organized for the needs of the Association. Since then, her photos have been used for communication purposes, notably on a poster that the team had hung in the consultation room. Lionelle recognized herself immediately, and it was a great surprise for her and her mom!
The good news for the team was that they were healthy.
Simon
What a transformation for Simon! In 2008, we had taken in a 9-year-old boy, and now we're seeing a 23-year-old man on a mission. Simon had been operated on by Pr Francine Leca herself, and we've heard from him regularly ever since. His operative results are so good that we didn't ask him to come for a consultation during the mission. But after a report on Cameroon TV about the Association's visit to Yaoundé, Simon and his mom came to thank the team.
Simon will take his baccalaureate at the end of the year and wants to study psychology. We wish him every success!
Abdoulaye
When Abdoulaye arrived in Lyon in 2019 for heart surgery, his worried mother wrote to us about his delayed development compared to his healthy twin sister. During the mission in Cameroon, Constance Beyler, the team's cardiologist, checked his heart and confirmed that everything was fine.
Abdoulaye is now in second grade, working well, and is very happy to have the same life as her twin sister.
Adrien Noé
Adrien Noé was a little shrimp weighing just 4.6kg when we took him into our care in 2015 at the age of one. His heart disease was causing him to suffer from shortness of breath, preventing him from eating properly and gaining weight. During his convalescence, Adrien Noé had already gained 2kg, but it's great to see him completely transformed today! His heart condition will probably require a second operation, so we're keeping a close eye on him.
