3 weeks ago
11
FOUR-YEAR-OLD Allicia Samuels is a vivacious and playful child. The second of two children for Omar Samuels and Nadine Kelsey, her world has changed dramatically over the last year.
In 2024, she suffered a seizure and was taken to the doctor in her home town in St Elizabeth. However, her test results proved inconclusive. In February 2025, she had another seizure and was again taken to the doctor, where she received the diagnosis of a high fever.
By May 2025, she suffered another seizure and was taken to the Mandeville Regional Hospital where, after a series of tests, she was diagnosed with epilepsy. However, following outpatient tests that were also requested, including an electrocardiogram, the results showed that she had a narrowing of her heart valve.
Allicia was referred to the Bustamante Hospital for Children, the only paediatric facility of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean. It has been a challenging period for her parents, as the family lives in St Elizabeth and has to make the daily trek to Kingston to be with their daughter.
“It is expensive getting to and from St Elizabeth, and trying to get everything in place. The hospital recommended urgent surgery following their analysis of her condition. We did not know where we would get the funds from for her to do the surgery. The doctors told us it would be better that the surgery is done now, to prevent any complications as she gets older,” Samuels said.
As the parents began preparations for their daughter to undergo surgery, Kiwanis Eastern Canada and the Caribbean (EC&C) and Chain of Hope Jamaica stepped in to assist them to offset the full cost of the surgery, totalling J$1.2 million. The handover that took place at Bustamante Hospital for Children’s Cardiac Centre also saw Kiwanis pledging an additional support of J$50,000 to assist with aftercare, transportation, and related expenses.
Diane Edwards, board chairman, Chain of Hope Jamaica, said the objectives and mission of the organisation are to provide life-saving cardiac treatment for the children of Jamaica and the Caribbean.
“We have been working on developing an ongoing programme of cardiac surgery in Jamaica with the team at Bustamante Children’s Hospital led by Dr Sherard Little. The doctors have to look at a number of different patients on the waiting list that is quite long – over 150. We have to look at the patients and decide which ones are most in need and can be operable,” Edwards said.
Many of the surgeries, she said, cost US$6,000, which many parents cannot afford. “It would be very difficult for them to afford surgery for a four-year-old child, so we try to raise funds and in this case, Kiwanis, with their generosity, we were able to raise funds for this child,” Edwards said.
Chain of Hope Jamaica, established in 2007, manages the first dedicated, state-of-the-art paediatric cardiac centre established in the region. The centre houses a 10-bed intensive care unit (ICU) , an operating theatre, and a biplane catheterisation lab at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.
Governor of Kiwanis EC&C District Pamela Rodney White said the fundraising efforts started with the Kiwanis International Children’s Fund (KICF), where they donate to the districts a portion of what the clubs donate to them from the year before.
“Those funds are used to do a project along the lines of KICF, which would be health and nutrition, education, literacy, and youth leadership development. We had a conversation with Diane Edwards of Chain of Hope Jamaica, and just listening to what Chain of Hope does, we figured this is what we do,” Rodney White said.
“We also led a successful telethon that assisted us with our fundraising efforts, as well as club donations to meet the US$6,000 target for the surgery. I had an opportunity to meet Allicia just before she went into the operating theatre. She is a beautiful child and the joy that she radiates has touched me. If we are to serve and change lives. then we should do all that we can to achieve these goals,” Rodney White added.
Samuels said, thanks to the donation from Kiwanis and Chain of Hope Jamaica, Allicia had a successful surgery. “She spent two days in the ICU, and since then she has been moving around just like she normally would. She is still in the hospital and is recuperating very well. She misses her home, and is anxious to return to her normal way of life,” he said.
Meanwhile, her mother, who was very nervous prior to the surgery, is relieved as she looks forward to her daughter returning to her normal life. “I was all nerves, but I hoped for the best. We continue to put God first. With Him all things are possible, and we know this surgery will help her to live a happy life,” Kelsey said.
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