Rehema

REHEMA, OR ‘MWENDE’ MEANING LOVE, IS AN OPTIMISTIC AND LOVING SIX-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM KAJIADO, KENYA. REHEMA HAS ONE OLDER BROTHER NAMED NIMROD, WHO SHE MISSES AND ADORES VERY MUCH. 

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Rehema’s father, Denis is a carpenter, and her mother, Ester, is a school teacher. At home, Rahema is just about to begin first grade and she can’t wait! 

When Rehema was just three months old, she had a terrible cough for a few weeks. Her mother gave birth to her at Kenyatta National Hospital and when her baby girl was sick for a while, she returned to the hospital to see what is wrong. There she was sent to the the Cardiac Center to be seen by Dr. Osano, a cardiologist trained by Save a Child’s Heart in Israel, who performed an echo examination on her.

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Rehema was diagnosed with a heart defect called ventricular septal defect (VSD).

A ventricular septal defect - also known as “a hole in the heart” - is a type of congenital heart defect in which there is an opening in the ventricular septum, the wall dividing the left and right ventricles of the heart. VSDs are the most common congenital cardiac abnormalities. They are found in 30-60% of all newborns with a congenital heart defect, or about two to six per 1000 births.

Rehema and her mother travelled together to Israel for the opportunity to save her life, alongside 9 other children with heart disease and the same hope of being saved!

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ON JANUARY 16, 2023, REHEMA UNDERWENT A LIFE-SAVING CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION AT THE IDA CABAKOFF IPCC FOR SAVE A CHILD’S HEART IN HOLON, ISRAEL. 

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Rehema’s favorite color is hot pink like her sweater in the photo! She tells us she loves spaghetti and her favorite game to play at home is hide and seek. She also told us when she grows up, she would like to be a teacher, just like her mom, who is her role model.

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The SACH team is happy they were able to mend Rehema’s heart and send her back home to live a long and healthy life!