One Good Turn Deserves Another

September 20, 2002 8:35 AM

One Good Turn Deserves Another Mantaine Minis, 6, was living in a hut in a remote village in Kenya, in need of lifesaving heart surgery, when the improbable happened one day in June. A group of students and parents from the Langley School in McLean (Virginia) as on safari at the Masai Mara National Reserve, where Mantaine's father is a game warden. That's when someone from the village told a Langley teacher about Mantaine's heart problem. From there, things seemed to unfold quickly.
posted by tommyspoon (5 comments total)

I must say that's touching. It almost makes stories like this a little more palatable.
posted by tr33hggr at 8:40 AM on September 20, 2002

What a great story.
posted by SisterHavana at 9:06 AM on September 20, 2002

My daughter had a P.D.A. (patent ductus arteriosus.) It is a congenital defect. Inside the womb, the fetus does not need the blood to circulate through the lungs, so a blood vessel bypasses the lungs. At birth, this vessel is supposed to close up, but sometimes it doesn't; although my daughter was full term, it is very common among preemies.

This means that as their bodies grow, they are not getting all the oxygen they should, and the heart has to pump harder to compensate, hence the fatigue. My daughter had all but stopped growing from 9 months until she had the operation around 2 years old.

The great news is this procedure has become simplified. They go in through the left side, between the ribs, to tie off the vessel. This means instead of a huge chest scar, my daughter has a modest 3 in scar under her left arm. Recovery is almost instantaneous.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:35 AM on September 20, 2002

I love this story. It is just another demonstration of the good that money can do. Being rich does not make you a bad person--it opens up even more opportunities to be really good. Imagine for a few thousand dollars being able to save someone else's whole life.
posted by callmejay at 10:09 AM on September 20, 2002

Warm fuzzies on this end.
posted by RunsWithBandageScissors at 10:18 PM on September 20, 2002