Davi likes horses, motorcycles, playing ball, and is a loving and happy child. It’s hard to believe that this 3-year-old boy was born with a complex heart defect that required surgery when he was just 1 day old. He needed another surgery 6 months later. Without these surgeries, babies with this defect live no longer than a few days or weeks.

Davi’s procedures were performed by Dr. Ulisses Croti and his team at Hospital da Criança e Maternidade, our partner hospital in São José do Rio Preto.

Recovery from open heart surgery is challenging. As he grew, Davi needed more time than other children to learn to sit, walk and talk. But now, Davi’s life is no different from the life of any other child!

“Being by his side is wonderful,” says his mother Sandra. “Many thanks to all of the work done by Children’s HeartLink, for bringing more education to our doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.”

His mother is forever thankful to Dr. Croti and his team and their partners from the Mayo Clinic team for saving the life of her son and providing excellent care for him after surgery.

The partnership between Children’s HeartLink and Hospital da Criança e Maternidade is now embarking on its tenth year, and the hospital is poised to become a Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence.

Our 10-year collaboration led not only to a significant decrease in infections after surgery, but also to an increase in the number of children treated and the complexity of their surgeries, as well as a reduction in deaths. In 2018, Hospital da Criança e Maternidade served over 3,300 children with heart disease and performed over 300 heart surgeries.

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