SIP Aid supports heart surgery for Alan
SIP Scootershop has been supporting Dr Soeren Gatz and the "Verein Humanitäre Hilfe Landsberg am Lech e.V." for some time now. The main aim of the organisation is to provide medical development aid in African hospitals, especially in Cameroon and Tanzania. In Cameroon, the association has been cooperating with several hospitals of the Evangelical Church of Cameroon (EEC) for over 25 years, while in Tanzania it works with the St. Benedict Hospital of the St. Ottilien Monastery near Landsberg. In addition, school education is promoted in both countries through financial support.
In December of last year, we received an urgent call for help from Dr Gatz. The Shisong Cardiac Centre Hospital in north-eastern Cameroon was no longer able to perform a necessary heart operation following rebel fire. The little boy Alan was affected. Dr Gatz immediately organised an operation date in Munich, but a small amount of money was still missing. We were happy to be able to step in with direct help. A few days ago, Dr Gatz, Alan and his Nut visited us and it was pleasing to see how lively he was storming up our office stairs. Managing Director Alex says: "We are delighted that Alan is now well and healthy and has a more hopeful future. Even in these globally uncertain times, you can spread a little happiness with small gestures."
The report by Dr Soeren Gatz:
Alan C. F. Ndjappa (9), a young patient with a congenital heart defect, was first seen at our hospital in Mbouo/Baffusam in Cameroon two years ago. Due to his condition, he was on the waiting list for a heart operation. Such operations used to be performed at the Shisong Cardiac Centre in north-eastern Cameroon, but this was Locked due to the civil war. The cost of such an operation was around €2-3,000, but these can no longer be carried out. As a result, many children like Alan are at risk.
Alan's family situation is challenging. He lives with his single Nut in Foumban/Njisse. His father has left the family and his Nut, a tailor, struggles to support her older son who is studying logistics. The family can barely afford to pay for a cardiologist, so Alan's heart defect was only diagnosed when he was seven years old.
Great progress
Alan's disease is complex. He suffers from a severe narrowing of the heart valve leading to the pulmonary artery system and an atrial septal defect. This leads to a reduced oxygen supply to the blood and impairs his growth and resilience. In Europe, such heart defects would normally be treated and corrected in the first few years of life.
Fortunately, we were able to help Alan. After we presented our findings to Prof. Ewert from the German Heart Centre in Munich, he immediately pledged his support. With the help of fundraising and the support of SIP Scootershop, we raised the necessary funds for Alan's operation. Rather than open heart surgery, he was operated on using a catheter technique to insert a stent. This led to an immediate improvement in his oxygen saturation.
Alan was able to leave hospital after just three days and has since shown an impressive improvement in his physical and mental activity. He goes sledging, plays table tennis and has developed a healthy appetite. His Nut says: "We are overjoyed and incredibly grateful. We have been warmly welcomed by everyone here. A huge gift! I was very nervous before the procedure and my son was scared. But everyone was so warm-hearted - that helped us a lot. Before the operation, my son was teased a lot at school because he looked different due to his heart defect: his lips and hands were blue, his fingertips had grown wide. He was also never able to play with children because he quickly became breathless. I can't wait to watch him play with other children and hope that he can make some new friends soon."
More information about the projects of SIP Aid.
Who is "Die Humanitäre Hilfe Landsberg am Lech e.V."?
A small registered association with around 100 members, which was founded in 2005 by employees of the Landsberg Clinical Centre and others. The current chairman is Dr Soeren Gatz, the address is Keltenstraße 7, 86899 Landsberg. The deputies are Dr Roller and Ms Ottilie Ecke.
The active members from the circle of doctors, dentists, specialised nurses and other professions are recruited from various hospitals in the Allgäu and Munich area, among others, and the cooperation with the SES (Senior Experts Service) in Bonn has existed as public support for over 15 years. The specialist focus is on further training in ultrasound diagnostics, X-ray, echocardiography and endoscopy as well as intensive care and internal medicine, in addition to a large number of dental workstations (Dr Roller). The further development of the infrastructure is also a focus: X-ray, US, hygiene, washing machines, car support, etc.
For the past two years, our member Dr Msangi Samwel has been providing internal medicine/gastroenterology specialist training in Germany for Ndanda at Buchloe Hospital.
Current contact persons on site:
Tanzania: Dr Br. Jesaja Michael Sienz, Chief Physician at St Benedict Hospital in Ndanda
Cameroon: Dr Simo Simo Moise Armand, Dr Leonel Tchamo Nguifo, Dr Raoul Pantegna and others
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