Jeremiah

JEREMIAH IS A KIND, SILLY AND SWEET SEVEN-YEAR-OLD BOY FROM MONTSERRADO, THE CAPITAL OF LIBERIA. JEREMIAH HAS TWO OLDER TEENAGE BROTHERS, WHO HE LOVES VERY MUCH.

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Jeremiah’s father, Harris, is a contractor, and his mother, Oretha, works in the coal business. The family of four live in a small home with no access to water or electricity. Oretha, his mother, tells us they have to walk far away from their home to get water.

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Jeremiah was not able to  go to school due to his illness. 

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Since Jeremiah’s birth, he already had difficulty breathing. Two short months later, he was diagnosed with a heart condition called coarctation of the aorta (COA).

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COA is a narrowing of the aorta, the large blood vessel that branches off the heart and delivers oxygen-rich blood to the body. When this occurs, the heart must pump harder to force blood through the narrow part of the aorta. This is considered a critical heart defect.

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Jeremiah travelled to Israel with his mother and another girl from Liberia with her mother, both with the anticipation of receiving pediatric cardiac care which he knew he could not receive back at home!

Save a Child’s Heart was especially excited to bring Jeremiah for life-saving care in Israel because since its establishment SACH has only had two other patients from Liberia, the last patient over 10 years ago. SACH is happy to have been able to reach these two children and hopes to open doors to other children in need from Liberia.

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ON APRIL 19 AND 21, 2023, JEREMIAH UNDERWENT TWO LIFE-SAVING CARDIAC CATHETERIZATIONS AT THE IDA CABAKOFF INTERNATIONAL PEDIATRIC CARDIAC CENTER FOR SAVE A CHILD'S HEART AT WOLFSON MEDICAL CENTER IN ISRAEL. 

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As Jeremiah was recovering, we got to know his personality a little better. He loves building houses with legos and blocks and tells us he hopes to build one of his own one day. He became very friendly with our volunteers and other patients from around the world. He is playful, friendly and an overall happy boy. He loves to eat pasta and shares his favorite colors are orange and green.

Jeremiah’s mother, Oretha, tells us she was very relieved when she found out about the treatment in Israel. She was very worried for so many years. She knew there was no treatment, nor did they have the money to fly abroad to help him. She knows it must have been very expensive to bring him here and she is very thankful, she wouldn’t have been able to afford his care otherwise. She also told us she is grateful to all the caregivers, nurses and other mothers for helping and caring for Jeremiah.

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The SACH team is thrilled they were able to mend Jeremiah’s heart and give hope to more children to receive cardiac treatment in Israel.