Improving the life of children one surgery at a time

In April 2023 when I was 22 weeks pregnant, I went in for a regular check up appointment. The dr’s face suddenly looked different and the words that came out of her mouth turned my world upside down in a second:

“The baby’s heart is on the wrong side of her chest and there seems to be a mass where the lung should be. Her life is at risk and you should go to a specialist for further evaluation”.

I never knew fear as I felt it that day. That day began our journey with what we later learned was a Pulmonary Sequestration and Cystic malformation in Amelie’s left lung.

During pregnancy we had great medical care and close monitoring. Luckily, the mass didnt grow as fast as Amelie grew and after 8 weeks her heart was back in the left side of her chest and the lung had started to develop. Amelie was born on the 21st of August 2023 without complications. The mass however was still in her chest and the doctors recommended to surgically remove it.

This surgery was done when Amelie was 5.5 months. The team at Uni Klinik Leipzig was incredible and we are forever grateful for their support and excellence.

While going through this process we learned about the foundation that Amelie’s pediatric surgeon, Dr. Prof. Martin Lacher had founded to help doctors in various countries in Africa and Asia learn the skills necessary to conduct very specialized surgeries on children. He explained to us that the surgery he made on Amelie he would have not been able to do in the places in Africa where he goes, because of the lack of equipment for ventilation necessary to ensure the safety of the children after surgery.

His foundation brings doctors from Germany to carry on delicate operations on children. They also train local Doctors in order for them to continue to provide great medical care locally.

As a mother, it is heart wrenching to have seen so closely the miracles of modern medicine and the blessing it is to live in Germany where my daughter had access to the best, most advanced medical equipment, facilites and doctors and knowing that that there are so many babies and mothers who dont have the same luck.

It is for this reason, that in honor of Amelie’s birthday, we are organizing this fundraising campaign to help raise funds to support Dr. Lacher’s foundation “Stiftung Kinderchirurgie”. These funds will help support their current project which is building a fully equipped operation room in Hawassa, Ethiopia.

To learn more about this foundation please visit Stiftung Kinder Chirugie. Their motto: “We do not change the whole world through our operations. But the whole world changes for this one child”.

Every cent counts. Our family, Dr Lacher and his team and the children and families in Hawassa will forever thank you.

https://www.stiftung-kinderchirurgie.de/