"Fear Suspended"
With a mortality rate of nearly 40 percent, the risk
of doing pediatric heart surgery at Hospital Del Nino seems great. Even
greater, however, is the risk of not doing it. Congenital heart defects need
to be fixed so the child can grow, develop and thrive. In the U.S., defects
are often fixed before the first birthday and with a mortality rate of less
than five percent. The Panama City hospital is one of the best in Central
America and is working to increase survival rate. In the mean time, parents
hope for the best as children struggle to make it to surgery day and survive.
"Fear Suspended." Parents catch a glimpse of their daughter as she
is rushed down a hallway from the operating room to the ICU after open heart
surgery.
