DENVER — A mother and her infant daughter will soon reunite with their family in Mongolia after spending weeks in Denver for a medical procedure.
Now, 10-month-old Sarana is smiling, playful, and full of life, a big change from just a few weeks ago.
"They found out she had the deficiency when she was 20 days old," her mother Narangarav said through a translator. "Doctors said something was wrong with her lungs and the doctor did an ultrasound and they realized there was hole[in her heart]."
She had a ventricular septal defect, which allows too much blood flow to the lungs. It also causes abnormal breathing and irregular sweating.
"It was so difficult to see her sweating and crying a lot because she was a young baby and we don't know what's wrong. So it was hard to see her daughter struggling with all the problems she had," the translator said.
Dr. Steve Leonard at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children knows all about the procedure little Sarana needed to correct the problem. The defect is common but serious, he said.
For Sarana, getting that procedure wasn't easy. Mongolia is a developing country and there was no one to do the surgery.
"Unfortunately she was in a country that just didn't have cardiac surgery available to her and Samaritan's Purse has been working in Mongolia for a number of years," said Dr. Leonard.
Though its Children's Heart Project, Samaritan's Purse works with many hospitals around the world to get children the medical attention they need but can't afford. This type of surgery costs anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000. Everything was paid the Samaritan Purse.
"If she didn't have the surgery we would expect her to live through her early years maybe even into teen years and maybe even adulthood but it's very important that we get this defect taken care of so she can experience a normal life," Dr. Leonard said.
After flying 26 hours and 6,000 miles, Sarana and her mom made it to Denver where she underwent surgery at the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children. After the surgery doctors said they saw instant changes.
"It's very gratifying to the parents to knew that their kid that's been rapidly breathing and not eating very well is doing better," Dr. Leonard said.
"It's very fulfilling to be able to do something like this because when you save the life of a child you think this child is going to have children. This can be one life saved to make a huge difference in the world. Or one life lost to make a huge difference," Dr. Leonard added.
Now, Sarana is considered cured, mom is happy and ready to take her daughter back home to her dad and two siblings.
"So healthy and so much facial expression that she can now show to mom. She can see so much more improvement in her condition," said Narangarav.
Sarana and her mother are going back to Mongolia this month.
