Marc with mother Marlene Cobban after the successful surgery.WHEN Marc Cobban was born, it was the happiest day in the life of his mother Marlene Cobban. She already had a girl and then Marc came to complete the pair.
Twelve days after he was born, Marc was vomiting constantly and his breathing was rapid; he became sickly and lethargic. A cloud of gloom descended when Marlene was told that her son had a defective heart. He had a condition called truncus arteriosus, where two large vessels of the heart -- the pulmonary artery, which takes blood to the lungs, and the aorta, which distributes blood throughout the body, were defectively fused together at their origin, thus preventing them from carrying out their respective functions efficiently.
"I felt hollow inside," admitted Marlene. "I thought I was going to lose my little boy who I prayed so hard for... I literally hollered when the doctors told me that it was very serious and that surgical treatment would be difficult."
Although Marc was on a list for surgery during the visit of an overseas medical team in March of this year, he became ill and could not undergo surgery.
"By this time I was really traumatised and frustrated, I lost a lot of weight, but I continued praying and my friends and neighbours prayed with me and gave me the strength to go on," Marlene added.
Today Marlene can't stop singing the praises of the Kiwanis Club of Kingston, who promptly responded to a request by caring doctors such as Dr. Doreen Millard, consultant cardiologist from the Paediatric Unit of the University Hospital of the West Indies, for assistance to send the child abroad for treatment.
"It is a miracle that my child is alive today," says Marlene, as she related the mental and physical agony she experienced as she waited out the seven-and-a-half-hour surgery. The surgery should have lasted three hours, but Marc's condition was much more complicated.
Today, Marc is an active eight-month-old, kicking and screaming with delight, due to the skilful hands of doctors at the Geisinger Medical Centre in Pennsylvania, through alliances formed by the Kiwanis Club of Pennsylvania, the Kiwanis Club of Kingston, the University Hospital of the West Indies and Air Jamaica.
The parents of Christopher Tomlinson, Cleon and Suzette Tomlinson, who travelled at the same time with Marlene, also expressed delight at their baby's successful surgery under the same programme.
According to club president, Lloyd Barnett Jnr., the club is living up to its international motto of 'Serving the Children of the World', which focuses on their needs, whether they relate to health, child abuse, juveniles locked up in remand centres, or other issues.
The Club says it is extremely proud of its achievements under their 'Let Little Hearts Beat Stronger' programme chaired by past president, Governor Rex Fennel. Since 1991, they have sent 33 children for emergency heart surgery overseas at a cost of $100 million, with only one child succumbing to the disease, reported club president Barnett.
Dr. Millard, who was guest speaker at one of the Club's weekly meetings at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, lauded the Kiwanians for their efforts in the heart programme, and the speed and efficiency with which matters pertaining to patients were handled.
-- Contributed
