"Thank God!" These were the words uttered by Arleen Lendor yesterday, as she made final preparations for her daughter, Hannah, to fly to Argentina today for an urgent liver transplant.
At 5.22 pm today, Lendor, nine-year-old Hannah and her siblings Nadia, 18, and Joel, 20, will leave T&T for Argentina. It's the day for which the Lendors have been praying almost a year. A few days after their arrival in Argentina, Lendor will donate piece of her liver to little Hannah, during what should be life-saving surgery. It would be the beginning of a new life for the child, she said. Hannah, a once energetic child, was diagnosed with advanced liver cirrhosis about one year ago. She had been sick since she was six years old.
The disease brought on a lung ailment, described as hepato pulmonary syndrome (HPS), and as a result, Hannah had to be hooked up constantly to an oxygen apparatus. Doctors said without the surgery, Hannah had only a few months to live. Cost of the surgery was originally $1.3 million, and was supposed to be done at a hospital in Caracas, Venezuela. However, the family was able to source a hospital in Argentina–Privado de Hospital de Ninos–which charged them US$80,000. After months of pleading with the public for financial help, the Lendors were able to raise the money. In fact, they raised more than they expected–close to $1.4 million. Lendor showered praises yesterday on the public for all their help.
