The Rheumatic Heart Disease program, in close conjunction with partner East Timor Hearts Fund (ETHF), hit the ground running.
Under the new leadership of Ricardo Flavio (Ricky), the team has been kept very busy: the delivery of penicillin to school children with rheumatic heart disease continues, led by Ainary Dos Santos, including monthly visits to the mountainous district of Letefoho. He and the team are preparing to see this project double in size next year with another screening program in April-May, meaning more lifesaving injections for kids who would have otherwise gone untreated.
Meanwhile Ricky has been working tirelessly to ensure a smooth preparation and transition for a number of Timorese patients being transferred to Australia for critical cardiac surgery (through ETHF). We met up with one of the success stories today, Dina, pictured left with her husband and child. Two months ago Dina appeared too unwell to make the trip to Australia, and her death seemed imminent, but a huge effort from the team saw her through to Sydney and successful treatment, accompanied by one of our team, Fatima Mendonca. Her heart restored, her breathlessness resolved, and a new future ahead of her.
If there’s ever a quiet day, the team are put to work in the headquarters. Dr Alice Coe from Australia has been running teaching modules on cardiac health, including basic echocardiography training (ultrasound), and the dissection of a cow’s heart (purely for educational purposes!). All of this makes the team better able to explain the disease, and the importance of treatment, to the children and families.
They’ve also been led through a design workshop and a detailed program review to optimise the strategies going forward, leading the nation in the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic heart disease.