Ivannah: two operations, one strong mother
Ivannah is a girl from Dodoma who was born with a complex heart problem and needed two operations. Today she is in Standard One and enjoying school.
Ivannah was born with a complex heart problem. Treating it took two operations: the first when she was one year and eight months old, the second when she was four years and three months.
When her father learned about her heart problem he left, believing the illness came from her mother's side of the family. Her mother has raised Ivannah alone since then. She faced many difficulties and kept going with the help of kind relatives and friends.
Ivannah's first surgery was at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute in Dar es Salaam. Later the doctors said she needed a second operation, and that it would have to be done in India.
In June 2020 her mother learned about The One New Heart Tanzania through social media. We took up Ivannah's case and supported the family so that she could have her second surgery in India. The operation went well.
Ivannah is now a happy seven-year-old in Standard One, enjoying school and her childhood.
Ivannah's mother did not give up, and neither did the people around her. Our work is to make sure that when a parent shows that kind of determination, there is help waiting to meet it.
Published with the family's written consent.
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