Help 4 year old Thiago Get Life-saving Surgery!

My name is Tara Jeffrey and I work at Lakeside International School in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

One of our lovely staff members, Marianela, has an adorable son named Thiago Calvo Medina who was born with a congenital heart defect called Tricuspid Atresia, which is a single ventricle defect. He has already had open-heart surgery in his short life (bidirectional Glenn operation); however, he now needs a Fontan procedure to keep his little heart beating.

The public health system in Costa Rica generally works well, but unfortunately the pediatric cardiac surgeons only perform two days' worth of Fontan procedures every year, and the waiting list is extremely long... Nearly 8 years long. He needs this life-saving surgery ideally before he turns five at the end of June 2024, so unfortunately the family has been left to their own devices to save their child's life. His cardiologist has emphasized the importance of getting the surgery before his lungs show damage (which thankfully they don't so far, despite working more than overtime to keep him alive). His quality of life; however, is already suffering, as the demand on his lungs is great and he is often exhausted.

The great news is that this sweet family has the option of taking Thiago to Hospital Dexeus in Barcelona, Spain to receive this operation by the same surgeons who travel twice a year to Costa Rica! They have over a 90% success rate for this procedure and we know their expertise will allow Thiago to grow and thrive into adulthood. However, because it is out-of-country, they must pay for this out of pocket.

They have been quoted $100,000 USD for transportation, surgery and after care (which can be up to two months in hospital with the associated costs for mama to be there). Loved ones are doing many fundraisers here in Costa Rica, but I know many people in other countries may have the means to help save this adorable little guy!

Any contribution, big or small, will be SO appreciated! Let's get Thiago and his parents to Spain!