Canouan toddler gets a new life

Jevonique Laidlow has never known the joys of being an average healthy toddler. The 18-month-old infant who currently resides in Canouan with her parents was born as a preterm baby and was found to have a very complex heart defect soon after birth.{{more}} Through collaboration between the International Hospital for Children (IHC), of Virginia, USA, the Rotary Club of St. Vincent South and the Ministry of Health of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Javonique’s diagnoses were confirmed by a visiting cardiologist, Dr. Bill Moscowitz, of IHC, who arranged for the child to undergo open-heart surgery in his institution.

In June 2008, young Javonique, accompanied by her mother, Catherine Shallow, journeyed to Virginia for the important life-saving procedure. CCA Limited, along with the Canouan Island Council and community members, donated all of the funding for traveling expenses for Jovanique and her mother. That included return airline tickets to Barbados from Canouan and spending money for one month.

Javonique has now returned to Canouan Island after a successful open-heart surgery and visited CCA Limited to personally thank management and staff for all of the support and assistance she received. CCA Coordinator for Public Relations and Staff Development, Iva-Lisa Mendes-Hussein, said that it was indeed a great pleasure for CCA Limited to contribute to such a cause, especially as she is the daughter of one its employees. She further stated that she highly commended Dr. Bharati Datta, Consultant Pediatrician at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, and Sister Jacqueline Browne-King, IHC Eastern Caribbean Regional Representative, for all they have done for Javonique and the other two hundred and seventy children who have received medical care through the IHC.

Through the international network of medical partners, IHC provides the critical skills, financial resources and organizational foundation to care for the surgical needs of children in six developing countries, which includes St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

IHC’s long-term goal for St. Vincent and the Grenadines is to establish it as a hub for advanced pediatric services for the whole Eastern Caribbean. It has embarked on a project with the Rotary Club of St. Vincent South to construct and provide Medical equipment for the children’s hospital. A fundraising event was recently organised by the Canouan Island Council in aid of the Children’s Hospital project, and the sum of Twelve Thousand Eastern Caribbean Dollars was raised and donated to this project.