Gift of Life’s First Child Is Reunited with Doctor Who Saved Her at St. Francis Hospital
Roslyn, New York – When Grace Agwaru was a four-year old in Uganda, doctors told her parents she would not live to her 16th birthday. But now at 38, Grace has defied the odds, thanks to life-saving open heart surgery she received nearly 33 years ago at St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center. On Tuesday, June 24th Grace was reunited at the Hospital with Filippo Balboni, M.D., one of the doctors who saved her.
“She was a lovely child when I first saw her and even lovelier now,” said Dr. Balboni, who performed a cardiac catheterization to diagnose Grace’s condition. She was flown to the U.S. by the Rotary Club of Manhasset and was the first child to benefit from their new Gift of Life Program.
Grace was born with hole between the two lower chambers of her heart. Doctors in Uganda knew Grace needed corrective surgery, but there were no facilities for open heart operations in her country at the time. As her condition grew worse, her parents were unable to cope with the medical bills. When Rotarian Robert Donno, the founder of Gift of Life, heard about her story through a request from a Rotary Club in Uganda, he knew he had to help. He convinced Grace’s father to bring her to the United States, marking the first time a Ugandan would have open heart surgery.
“Grace’s father collapsed in my arms when they were about to leave New York after Grace’s operation, thanking me over and over again for saving his daughter’s life,” said Donno. “I thought my life had been worth living. I had made a difference in his life and hers.”
Grace is now an agricultural economist, who trains people to grow crops and helps make them self-sufficient. She and her father are trying to start a Rotary Club in their hometown of Soroti.
She is deeply grateful to Gift of Life for changing the lives of children and families like hers around the world.
“This experience makes me feel special. I have been given a second chance in life,” said Grace.
“I am now 38, 22 years more than the maximum life I had been given by doctors and my health is perfect! I cannot remember the last time I was ill.”
Gift of Life is currently trying to expand its program from helping 1,000 to more than 3,000 children a year. This year, Rotarians will help their 10,000th child receive life-saving surgery.
Contact:
Paul Barry, 516-705-6657, paul.barry@chsli.org
Rosemary Gomez, 516-705-6656, rosemary.gomez@chsli.org
