Kathryn Culver, Leader Staff
DATE: 4-22-2002
PUBLICATION: Round Rock Leader

Delivered by his grandmother, Deyvin Cruz Rivera was born in a tiny board house in a small northern Nicaraguan village near the Honduras border almost three years ago.

His grandmother warned his mother the baby was not well and told her as soon as she was able, she must walk four hours to the nearest city, Jalapa, to have him examined by a doctor.

What Consuela Moreno Rivera later learned terrified and saddened her. Doctors found a hole in the ventricle of the boy's heart and said he would live only seven months.

A simple surgery could save his life, but the technology was not available in Nicaragua. Consuela Rivera relied on her faith and prayed that somehow God would send her son to the United States - a wild dream for a family of corn farmers living in Ojo de Agua, a remote village where the 20 one-room homes had only dirt floors and were without running water or electricity.

For the Riveras, a good harvest meant they might be able to buy one new article of clothing for each family member that year.

Doctors relied on short-wave radios to inform Consuela of an upcoming appointment, usually only giving her a day's notice. The young mother would then have to walk back to the city, carrying only Deyvin and a backpack.

It is a story that is hard to imagine while sitting in the Cardwell family's large, comfortable Forest Creek home in East Round Rock, where both Consuela and Deyvin are staying this month.

Deyvin, now a toddler, is engrossed with a pile of brightly-colored building blocks. Periodically, he drops the blocks and diverts his attention to playing ball with his mother, waddling awkwardly after it when she rolls it along the floor, his tiny feet padding along in little white tennis shoes.

There is nothing to indicate he had open heart surgery only weeks before nor would anyone guess he is totally new to the abundant, busy American life that surrounds him.

Deyvin is the first child this year to receive aid from the nonprofit group HeartGift, formed in 2000 by Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons in Austin.

The group started with plans to aid children in war-torn Kosovo, and after successfully helping five from that nation, doctors opted to seek out more children in nations where heart surgery is not available.

These children have heart conditions that generally would be corrected if they had been in a modem industrial country, said Dr. Kenneth Fox, who performed Deyvin's surgery.

Deyvin suffered from what is called a ventricular septal heart defect, meaning he had a hole between the pumping chambers of his heart.

To Fox, the surgery Deyvin needed was a fairly routine one, but vastly important since Deyvin would not have survived without it.

"I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see these kids, to do a simple operation and have them get better," Fox said. "To see the ear-to-ear smile both Mom and kid have is just amazing and I get to do it every day."

Fox is quick to share credit with HeartGift volunteers like Renee and John Cardwell, who became involved through their church St. John Vianney.

The Cardwell's 13-year-old son J.P., was born with several heart defects and has undergone two surgeries already and faces another two.

For Renee, the opportunity to host the Nicaraguan family was one that hit close to home.

"It is an incredible feeling," Cardwell said. "It is our way of giving back because we are truly blessed with the life of our son."

J.P.'s first cardiac surgery, when he was five days old, saved his life.

Cardwell, who struggled with her own Spanish, translated for Rivera, who said her son's recovery has thrilled her. The young mother of four was at first frightened by the sight of her son in intensive care, surrounded by machines and tubes, but can now see the improvement.

Cardwell become teary-eyed when Rivera told her she thought America was beautiful and sensed Americans were very unified, noting how so many people had come together to help her and Deyvin.

Deyvin has one final round of checkups before he and his mom return to their village in Nicaragua.

Fox believes the child will never need another surgery. "He should lead a happy, normal, healthy life," the doctor said.