FATHER’s Day came early for Sihle Mangaliso, a 25-year-old dad from Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, after his four-year-old son, Namzo, received lifesaving heart surgery.
Namzo developed a heart condition last year after he continuously experienced chest problems. Since he was only three at that time, he was placed on a waiting list for a year, as he was too young to undergo the operation.
The little boy was recently admitted to the Busamed Private Hospital at Paardevlei in the Western Cape to repair a fault in his heart.
“I am happy. I have never received any present ever, and my boy’s heart surgery is the best gift ever,” the ecstatic father said.
“I knew that one day I would receive a present for being a father, but I never thought the present will be a gift of life. The hospital personnel also bought me a beautiful phone.”
The happy father said the boy was recovering well at home and will be going back to crèche to join his friends.
The boy’s operation was made possible by Pelo Foundation, a non-profit organisation that raises funds and creates awareness about the conditions of children living with the serious need of heart treatment and surgeries.
The foundation aims to raise more funds to ensure that children with Congenital Heart Disease receive life-saving surgery and continue to receive medical treatment that could give them a chance to live normal lives.
Since its inception last June, Pelo Foundation and its partners have made it possible for nine children to receive much-needed heart surgeries.
For more information, visit: https://pelofoundation.org/
Cape Times