New lease of life for baby boy

Netcare Foundation, Maboneng Foundation teamwork praised.

A baby boy born with a heart defect received lifesaving surgery at the Maboneng Heart and Lung Institute at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital - thanks to medical teamwork spanning the private and public sectors.

"Soon after Dante was born at the end of January this year, we noticed there was something wrong. He was very difficult to settle; he cried and cried and he wasn't gaining strength and weight as he should have," his mother, Jennifer van der Heever, recalls.

So began a harrowing journey for Dante's family, struggling to make ends meet while their baby son was examined by specialists at Mankweng Hospital and Polokwane Hospital, and he was admitted for two weeks in the intensive care unit at Tshilidzini Hospital.

Eventually, the family returned to their home in Makhado with the news that Dante had a serious heart problem and would need an operation to save his life.

"Dante barely slept, we knew he struggled with his heart. He couldn't even drink properly and then he would be out of breath and sweating. We sat day and night awake with him in our arms. It was tough; even now, it is very emotional to think back on that time," said Jennifer.

Dante was put on a waiting list to have the operation at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, but the earliest date available was 6 July.

"At our next check-up, however, the doctors found that the situation was even more urgent.