MANDEVILLE, Manchester – Telling him not to play outside like other children his age is not the kind of advice that Shenelle Dillion wanted to pass on to her vibrant-looking four-year-old son, Jayquan Williams.

However, until the United States-based HeartGift Foundation gave him a chance recently to do a long-awaited corrective surgery, she harboured a deep-seated fear that his defective heart could give way unexpectedly.

Dillion, who lives in Hatfield, Manchester said that her only child was diagnosed with a Primum Atrial Septal defect at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

Cardiothoracic surgeon at the hospital Dr Sherard Little, responding to emailed questions from the Jamaica Observer, explained that patients with the condition may have no symptoms while others may have difficulties.

“There may be symptoms of heart failure, which include fast breathing, tiring easily and feeding difficulties. If this problem is not treated in a timely fashion, it can result in complications including elevated pressures in the lungs. This could lead to a worsening of symptoms and early death,” he said.

Dillion said that her son, who turned four in December and whom, she said, it was suggested should have done the surgery before he was one-year-old, had “heart murmur and shortness of breath” and she was worried that he was gradually getting worse.

To protect his health, she said that since January he has not been to school and ensured that for fun he engaged in less hectic activities such as watching television and using his electronic tablet.

The toddler, unfortunately, was on a cardiac surgery waiting list at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, which Dr Little said exceeds 100 patients.

In an effort to speed up the process and put her own heart at ease, Dillion said that she started looking for alternative health care facilities where the surgery could be done and with the hope that she could get some assistance with funding.

“I even contacted a hospital in Israel,” she told the Sunday Observer.

Late last year Jamaican-born physician Dr Carlton Clarke, who resides in Texas, learnt of the situation and began his own pursuit to get the required assistance for the mother and her child whom

he had never met prior to their arrival in Texas on February 20.

Through his input, the HeartGift Foundation provided the funding and Jayquan successfully completed the three-hour procedure at the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas on Thursday (February 26).

“They (HeartGift Foundation) pay for airfares, surgery and find a host home… during his stay. He will not need any further surgery. It is such a relief. He will play like other kids,” Dr Clarke said.

On Friday he told the Sunday Observer that Jayquan was out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), “talking like a politician” and should be discharged soon.

“Words cannot explain how grateful I am,” said Dillion prior to leaving the island, in reference to Dr Clarke’s efforts that resulted in the assistance from the HeartGift Foundation.

She and her son are scheduled to return to the island in April.

Meanwhile, Dr Little said that the major challenge in providing heart surgeries in a timely manner at the Bustamante Hospital for Children is the limited number of beds available in the Intensive Care Unit to manage the patients following surgery.

He said, however, that a new facility under construction at the hospital is set to be completed in the last quarter of 2015 and will improve the conditions.

“The new facility will have an ICU space, which, when fully equipped and staffed, will be able to accommodate 10 patients. It will consistently allow at least two to three cardiac surgeries to be performed on a weekly basis,” Dr Little said.