Roberto and Meregilda live with their six young children in a two-room, dirt floor house. When Roberto’s heart became debilitated by Chagas disease, life went from hard to desperate. For three years, Roberto suffered increasing weakness, fainting several times a day. His son Jorge, 16, dropped out of school to plant the crops that would feed the family.
Roberto received a pacemaker through Solidarity Bridge. Now he is strong and able to work again and Jorge is back in school. Roberto walks five hours to the clinic for his regularly-scheduled check-ups. He reports he is happy to do it, because now he can!
Like many rural, indigenous patients, Roberto was initially very reluctant to receive a pacemaker implant. Now he attends community meetings to share his experience and convince others with a weak heart from Chagas to get a pacemaker.
Roberto’s pacemaker isn’t only improving his own life. It is enabling him to provide for his wife and children, and now he is helping his neighbors get the help they need to do the same.
With your help, Solidarity Bridge will continue to provide lifesaving medical procedures and other health care for patients like Roberto who are living in poverty.