After spending three weeks in Denver, 20-month-old Deborah Kisakye is returning to her home in Uganda with the gift of new life.
“It’s a miracle,” her mother, Mariam Luyima, said through a translator.
The youngest of four children, Deborah was born prematurely with a hole in her heart.
A doctor in the capital, Kampala, said she could get heart surgery in India. But Luyima and her husband didn’t have enough money for that.
Deborah’s grandfather, a pastor in Uganda, finally connected with a medical mission group from Dallas that was performing craniofacial surgery in Uganda. Through that group, he was able to contact Denver cardiologist Steven Leonard.
Leonard, who works at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, told hospital administrators about Deborah, and surgery, anesthesia and hospital care were provided for free.
The child had heart surgery April 19.
“The whole thing made everyone here feel so good,” said Leo n ard, who frequently goes on medical mission trips to Honduras. “It made a real difference in a child who ordinarily would not have been able to have this kind of care.”
The Ronald McDonald House provided housing, and DC Kiyemba translated for Luyima.
Born in Uganda, Kiyemba has lived in Colorado 30 years and works in audit services at Xcel Energy, which gives employees paid time off to volunteer in the community.
Kiyemba picked mother and child up from the airport, spent the entire day at the hospital during the surgery and worked to connect Luyima with members of the local African community, who made sure she received home-cooked meals and made it to church services.
“We wanted to support her,” said Erin Motzer, a social worker at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center. “It’s so hard to come halfway around the world without knowing what the outcome of surgery for your daughter is going to be.”
The return trip, however, promises a happy ending.
“The trip back is about 18 hours, and when you get there you’re exhausted,” said Kiyemba. “But this time, when they get there everyone will be waiting at the airport for them. It’s like waiting for the bride.”
