Heartbreak for miracle baby

“Help, help! I want my baby to live. It is my first child, and I don’t know if I will be able to have another one.”

Those were the desperate words of first-time mother Vachel Harwood, who, just a week after welcoming her newborn son, Kyrique Buchanan, is now racing against time to raise funds for emergency heart surgery overseas to save his life.

After developing complications and undergoing tests and close observation, Kyrique was diagnosed by a cardiologist with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a congenital heart defect.

The high-risk surgery, which must be performed urgently and is not available in Jamaica, is estimated to cost between US$300,000 and US$700,000.

A distressed 33-year-old Harwood, who is also diabetic, explained to The Sunday Gleaner the anguish she felt after learning of her baby’s diagnosis.

“It’s is like I was thinking ‘Why my baby?’ after coming so far with him. My first baby. Everyone else get to go home with their baby but I am here in the hospital with mine,” said Harwood, who also has to manage her blood pressure.

Kyrique, whom his mother describes as her “miracle baby”, was yesterday in a nursery requiring medication and constant care, seven days after his birth at Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston.

Documents seen by The Sunday Gleaner show that a paediatric cardiologist at the Bustamante Hospital for Children has indicated that the cardiothoracic service at that hospital is unable to offer cardiac surgery.

For months, Harwood, who is from Montego Bay in St James, had no idea she was pregnant.

“I did a pregnancy test in April and it came back positive. I went to do an ultrasound and it confirmed I was pregnant,” she said.

The ultrasound was done in May, and her child was determined to have been conceived in December.

“I did not plan on having a baby but, when I found out I was happy. Head over heels,” said Harwood.,

No changes in my body

“I called the baby ‘Miracle’ because there were no changes in my body, the only thing was that I wanted to eat fish a lot,” she added.

However, an ultrasound done in June revealed potential issues with the baby’s heart.

“I went back in June to do another, to see if may [ultrasound] pick up like something is not right with the heart, but they weren’t 100 per cent sure. They sent me to Kingston to do another.”

“They still did not see everything properly because the baby is big. They decided, when he was born, they would take him to Bustamante and do a scan to show if anything was wrong,” added Harwood, who was transported from Cornwall Regional Hospital.

Follow-up ultrasounds were conducted in Kingston and at Victoria Jubilee Hospital to better assess the baby’s position and condition.

After a Caesarean section was performed on Harwood’s due date, doctors confirmed that the baby had a heart condition affecting blood flow and requiring urgent surgery overseas.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HLHS is a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart. As the baby develops during pregnancy, the left side of the heart does not form correctly.

HLHS is one type of congenital heart defect. Because a baby with this defect needs surgery or other procedures soon after birth, HLHS is considered a critical congenital heart defect.

Determined to save

her first child

Harwood said she was determined to save her first child despite the emotional and financial strain on her and the baby’s father.

“When I look at him, he gives me reason to fight for his life. Everyone in the nursery loves my baby. I am fighting and trying everything, but that sometimes is hard, but I’m fighting,” an emotional Harwood said.

Asked how she took the news of the diagnosis, Harwood said it was difficult to hear.

“It’s hard because I’m still in the hospital and the baby is still at the nursery. He is on medication and that is what is sustaining him right now. I can’t breastfeed him; I can only pump the milk,” Harwood said, noting that the baby’s father was also trying to cope.

“So far, I just started trying to raise money and I only have J$10,000 and US$100,” said Harwood.

Meanwhile, co-founder of Crisis Support Charity Limited, Stephen Josephs, who has been playing an integral role in assisting the family, said the organisation remains fully committed to supporting Kyrique.

“In the case of Kyrique Buchanan, we are actively working to secure the best possible medical placement and care. We are also working with the family to navigate the logistics and challenges involved in getting Kyrique to the facility where he can receive the treatment and support he urgently needs,” said Josephs.

“Please help us rescue this precious bundle of joy. Kyrique can live, but time is of the essence. Today, we are calling on the global community, charities, foundations, medical organisations, and people of goodwill to stand with us.”

ashley.anguin@gleanerjm.com

TO HELP

Anyone wanting to assist Kyrique Buchanan, please contact his mother, Vachel Harwood at 876-225-6541.

Account details: National Commercial Bank (NCB)

Account #: 491167939

Branch: Baywest

Type: Chequing

Transit: 125

Name: Vachel Harwood

Or

Account details: Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)

Account #: 265 455491

Type: Savings

Branch: Savanna-la-Mar

Transit: 125

Name: Shernado Buchanan

https://gofund.me/248b8b8c2