MOST NEW OR EXPECTANT MOTHERS dream about the day they can take their babies home with them from hospital.
Crystal Bynoe did not have this privilege.
Seven weeks after giving birth, the 23-year-old first-time mother cannot take her baby boy Ashcher Micah Bynoe-Chewitt out of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) because he was born with a heart defect known as Transposition of the Great Vessels.
Basically, this means the two major vessels that carry blood away from the heart - the aorta and the pulmonary artery - are switched (transposed).
In addition, baby Ashcher has two other problems with his heart - ventricular septal defect (VSD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), which are holes in the heart.
Ironically, without these holes Ashcher would not be alive. They allow his survival despite the transposition of his great vessels. Normally, without the VSD or the PDA, death occurs within a week.
One day after his birth last July 7, doctors noticed Ashcher had an accelerated breathing rate so he was admitted to the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit. It was later discovered he had a heart murmur and an echocardiogram revealed his dismal condition.
Ashcher is currently in a deteriorative state and is, in medical terms, going into heart failure. Because of the nature of his illness, surgery is needed which cannot be performed in Barbados.
The QEH's social services department is managing Ashcher's case regarding transfer to Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The cost of the transfer is estimated to be more than BDS$150 000, which covers expenses ranging from airfare to the cost of medication and hospitalisation to accommodation.
Wolfson has already accepted Ashcher's case but a date for transfer is still to be determined.
Both Crystal and Ashcher's dad Jared Chewitt have been at his side every day and it is heart-wrenching having to see him hooked up to so many tubes.
But they haven't had time for self-pity. Their focus is to get him the surgery as soon as possible by securing the funds that will make it happen.
The first group to offer Ashcher assistance are LIME interns who took a portion of their stipend to put towards a worthy cause. When they heard about Ashcher, they wasted no time.
The group of tertiary and secondary school students donated $1 200 and LIME matched that amount, bringing it to $2 400. They presented Crystal with the cheque yesterday at LIME's Windsor Lodge, St Michael offices.
Crystal said she was grateful for the contribution and thanked the interns and the company for their generosity. She said Ashcher was in stable condition and the only concern at the moment was that he needed to gain weight.
She told the WEEKEND NATION she was devastated when she got the news about her son's condition.
"It was a surprise because I had a good pregnancy with no morning sickness or anything. It has been a heavy weight on us - his father and myself - but I draw strength from my family and friends," she said. "One of the things I'm looking forward to after all of this is taking my son home with me for the first time."
An account has been set up at the Barbados Public Workers' Credit Union, Belmont Road, St Michael, for Ashcher.
Donations can be made to account number 0000074834. Please get in touch if you can help.
This article was written by Melissa Rollock and was published in The Nation News Published on 8/28/2009.
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The annual Taste for Tennis event kicked off the US Open, matching masters of the kitchen with masters of the tennis court to raise money for the Food Bank For New York City. The Food Bank For New York City provides food distribution, nutrition and health education, and public outreach to needy New Yorkers. In 2008, proceeds from the Taste of Tennis event helped to provide over 103,900 meals for the hungry.
