Giving the gift of life

At just two years old, Josue Vera will be returning to Quito, Ecuador this month with a new lease on life. The young boy, sponsored by the Oceanside Rotary Club, received life-saving heart surgery at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn on Feb. 3.

Josue and his mother, Patricia Pizarro, were able to come to the United States through the Gift of Life. Since 1975, the organization has helped cover the cost of travel and arrange surgeries for more than 10,000 sick children from all over the world. Eliot Liebner, a member of the Oceanside Rotary Club, has been working with the organization for more than 20 years, and has personally hosted 20 children through the rotary club. Josue and his mother stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park during their visit to the United States, and the rotary club helped cover the cost of necessities like food, clothing, diapers and phone cards to call home.

Speaking through translator Carol Barnett prior to Josue's surgery, Pizarro explained that her young son had been suffering from health problems since he was about a year old. He tired quickly, and would often experience flu-like symptoms. Doctors in Quito told her he had a heart problem, and connected the family with Gift of Life.

Dr. Sean Levchuck, chairman of pediatric cardiology at St. Francis, performed the surgery to correct two major problems. He patched a fourteen-centimeter hole between the top two chambers of Josue's heart, and closed an enlarged blood vessel connecting his aorta to his pulmonary arteries. Levchuck explained that the blood vessel should have closed up during birth; since it didn't, it was placing a huge strain on Josue's heart, and could have flooded his lungs with blood. Levchuck said Josue's exposure to flouroscopy, or x-ray imaging, took just eleven minutes, and the entire procedure was completed in about an hour and a half. “He's doing just great,” Levchuck said following the operation. Josue and his mother were given the green light to return home during a checkup last week, and are scheduled to return home later this month. Levchuck has performed hundreds of surgeries through Gift of Life, and tries to perform at least 20 surgeries a year for Gift of Life children. “To reach out across international lines and do this is just incredibly special,” he said. “I love it.”

Liebner, who tries to keep in touch with many of the children the rotary club has sponsored over the years, feels the same. Liebner made sure Josue and his mother were comfortable during their stay, and brought them sightseeing around New York. “It's very rewarding,” he said. The Oceanside rotary club also got younger students involved in the sponsorship through the Interact Club at Oceanside High School. Members of Interact have volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House, and the club hosted Josue and his mother on a special visit to OHS on Feb. 9.

Members of the club asked the family questions through Nieve LaRocca, a Spanish teacher at OHS. Pizarro expressed her gratitude, and said the most important thing is that Josue has his health, and will now have a brighter future. She's looking forward to returning to her husband and life in Ecuador, and is thankful for the new friends she has made in the United States. Pizarro met other families in similar situations at the Ronald McDonald House, and plans to keep in touch with them once she returns home as well.

She also plans to stay in contact with the rotary club. Liebner said he hopes to send her and Josue home with a copy of Rosetta Stone, a computer program that will help the family learn English so they can keep in touch as he grows up.

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