Gift of Life Patient Gets a Surprise Reunion at St. Francis Hospital 33 Years After Open-Heart Surgery
Ugandan Woman Is Reunited with Doctors Who Saved Her and Former High School Students Who Helped Her Stay in the U.S. for Four Lifesaving Surgeries
Roslyn, New York, April 29, 2009 - When Robinah Nakabuye arrived in the U.S. at the age of 12 for lifesaving open-heart surgery, her family thought she would be here for just a few weeks. But she ended up staying for almost a year. A series of complications resulted in four difficult heart and brain operations, forcing Robinah and Joyce Kanyerezi, a nurse from Uganda who accompanied her, to remain in the states. Now, at the age of 45, Robinah has the opportunity to be reunited with some of the people who gave her the gift of life.
Robinah was born with a congenital condition called Tetralogy of Fallot that involves four different heart defects. She was flown to New York in 1976, becoming the second patient in the history of Gift of Life program. However, her departure from Uganda was initially delayed when she suffered a stroke. “When we met her at the airport in New York City, she weighed only 18 kilograms – about the size of a 6-year-old,” said Robert Donno, the founder and chairman of Gift of Life International.
A patient assistance fund was set up at St. Francis through the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the order of Roman Catholic sisters that founded the Hospital. Three physicians donated their services, including Filippo Balboni, M.D., a cardiologist who was reunited with Robinah during a press conference at the Hospital on April 29, 2009. Robinah was also reunited with several special friends: former high school students who belonged to the Manhasset Rotary’s Interact club. Its members raised $4,000 to pay for Robinah’s nurse’s housing costs through bake sales, a dance and 40-kilometer bicycle marathon.
After returning to Uganda, Robinah had to make several more medical trips back to St. Francis. She had a pacemaker-cardioverter defibrillator implanted in 2002 after suffering from arrhythmia. She is now under the care of Steven Greenberg, M.D., a leading cardiologist at the Hospital’s world-renowned Arrhythmia and Pacemaker Center.
Robinah, who has a 17-year-old son, is currently an administrative assistant at the Uganda Heart Institute, where she helps children with congenital heart defects get the help they need. She always remembers the support and love she received from so many during her first trip to the U.S. While recuperating and attending school in Manhasset, her fellow classmates gave her an autograph book that she carried back to her country. One wrote, “I will never forget you” and Robinah says she will never forget them.
Contact:
Paul Barry, 516-705-6657, paul.barry@chsli.org
Rosemary Gomez, 516-705-6656, rosemary.gomez@chsli.org
