Every Heartbeat Matters
The patient stories featured on this webpage are shared in connection with the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation’s work with its charitable partners. The inclusion of any patient story does not imply that the individual received treatment with Edwards Lifesciences products or therapies, unless explicitly stated.
Saving Keyla
Missions come in all shapes and sizes. A two-day effort in El Salvador wasn’t on MAP International’s calendar, but a patient of theirs needed urgent care to buy her more time, Dr. Jenny Zablah and a team from Children’s Hospital Colorado stepped in and ended up mending four more hearts while they were there.
In 2023, advocates reached out to MAP International about a young girl named Keyla who needed life-saving surgery. She was in El Salvador but required travel to the U.S. for treatment. Despite their best efforts, no hospital would take her case. It was considered too complex and possibly inoperable.
When the MAP team returned to El Salvador in the fall of 2023 for an atrioseptostomy training, they connected with Keyla’s mother and invited her to bring Keyla in. There was a brief window to perform a diagnostic procedure that could help determine whether there was a realistic path forward. Her mother hesitated – after years of being told that there was no hope, the sudden possibility of treatment was overwhelming. The family had not even had the chance to say goodbye in case something went wrong. MAP committed to bringing Keyla home.
Keyla was deeply cyanotic - visibly blue – and her condition became more urgent with each passing week. In June, Dr. Zablah and two colleagues from Colorado traveled to El Salvador for a 3-day mission, focused on helping Keyla. They performed a procedure that brought Keyla immediate relief, and during the same visit, they were able to care for four additional children with urgent cardiac needs.
Today, Keyla’s lips are pink and she has more energy.
Sometimes the biggest impact comes from the smallest windows of opportunity.