Richard

Richard was born premature and very underweight, for this reason his heart condition was detected when he was very young. His mother is a nurse in a public Hospital and his father works as a security guard, they have very limited resources, and do not have any medical insurance. The parents had to request help from the public health ministry and the First Lady of the Dominican Republic’s office in order to provide their son with the supplements and medications required to keep him alive.

When the doctors stabilized him enough, he was referred to CEDIMAT for an emergency atrioseptostomy. The parents then learned that for his complex cardiac situation, he would need three surgeries; by then the mother had already quit her job because her son needed all the time she had. They felt very desperate, wondering who could help them with all of their medical expenses.

The social services department, spoke to the family and told them not to worry, the David Ortiz Children’s Fund would help Richard get the care he needed. Richard received his surgeries, and is now growing and thriving, making her mother smile and his papa very proud.