Plan works "miracle" for baby Kenyan refugee

4 April 2008: A 10 month-old baby girl suffering from a life threatening heart condition and forced from her home by a violent Kenyan mob, has been given new hope in her battle for life by Plan, the leading international children’s organisation.

Plan rescued Lucy from a refugee camp in Uganda and flew her to India where she underwent a complicated operation to insert a heart valve. The valve was itself flown in by Plan from Brazil.

Lucy’s odds of survival had plummeted after her family’s home was torched and their small business destroyed by rioters in the wake of last year’s disputed Kenyan election. Forced to flee with her family, she missed out on medical attention for her condition and contracted pneumonia after sleeping rough in the cold on the long walk to safety in Uganda.

Like many of the 12,000 refugees who crossed the border, Lucy’s family arrived in Uganda with only the few possessions they could carry by hand. Having witnessed the violence in Kenya, they were already traumatised with the added burden of uncertainty surrounding their sick daughter.

Plan first came across Lucy in a Ugandan refugee camp, where she was brought into the health centre run by the children’s organisation. The centre treated her for her pneumonia and arranged a hospital appointment at the Uganda Heart Hospital.

The diagnosis revealed Lucy to be suffering from pulmonary atresia – or a blockage of the heart’s right ventricle - an extremely rare condition. Without treatment Lucy would have had little chance of survival.

Emergency transfer

Speaking from Kampala, Plan’s Uganda Country Director, Donal Keane explained: “Doctors in Uganda and Kenya were unable to help Lucy due to the seriousness of her condition. The cardiac surgeon at Mulago hospital, recommended that Lucy be transferred to a special paediatric cardiac unit in Chennai, India, where doctors agreed to perform the necessary surgery.”

As the Kenyan violence continued, Lucy’s health worsened. Her best chance of survival was urgent surgery at the specialist unit. Plan contacted the Madras Mission Hospital to arrange an immediate appointment and began arranging entry visas and flights for the family. By early March, Lucy was well enough for the 14 hour flight from Uganda to India.

However, on arriving in India, she suffered yet another setback. The doctors discovered the infant had a collapsed heart. Despair set in, as they explained that India only stored adult heart valves. Once more, Plan stepped in, arranging for a baby heart valve to be flown in from Brazil.

Operation

On 26 March, bleary eyed but stable, baby Lucy awoke from her six hour operation to be greeted by her anxious, and overwhelmed 20 year-old mother. Lucy’s heart now beats regularly.
 
Her mother said: “It is beyond my wildest expectation that my daughter could live and that we can return someday to Kenya as a family.”

Lucy’s father said, “It is a miracle that my child has the opportunity to live!”

Donal Keane added: “We were all over the moon when we heard the news. There is such interest in Lucy, at the office, in the area we work, everyone is asking about her. I’ll definitely be there to meet her when she lands, I can’t wait.”

Safe return

Lucy is now expected to return to Africa on World Health Day on 7 April. She has suffered more in just 10 months, than most adults will suffer in a lifetime. Her life was only saved by a global effort spanning 3 continents.

Yet her ordeal, like that of many thousands of Kenyan children, is not over. As the insecurity in Kenya continues, thousands more vulnerable children like Lucy are facing futures fraught with uncertainty.
 
Last month’s peace deal brokered by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan offers hope of a brighter future to children like Lucy. However, it may be some time before Lucy and her family can return to their village, as many refugees fear continued violence.

During the political turmoil that has plagued Kenya, Plan has provided relief to 10,000 young people in Kenyan and in Ugandan camps. Emergency health centres providing medicine and trained staff have been established and children’s kits containing warm clothing and educational material have been distributed.

The organisation is also continuing to support the thousands of children caught up in the violence to regain their physical and mental health and to have access to education, medical supplies and treatment.

Plan is also providing longer-term support through projects seeking to reunite families separated during the unrest, protecting children who have become vulnerable from the violence, and engaging children in reconciliation projects designed to repair communities shattered along tribal lines.

Notes to editors

Plan is a leading international children’s NGO working in 49 developing countries to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. Plan works with more than 3.5 million families each year throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Plan provides medial assistance to children across the globe. Last year, over 200 health centres were built and 24,801 professional health workers were trained.

Requests for interviews and/or filming with Lucy’s family or with Donal Keane should be made to:

Contact the Plan press office: +44 7500 066891

Web: www.plan-international.org/news/journalists/