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News release: Colorado - Denver/BoulderMay 30, 2000 For more information, call: Doctor helps get life-saving surgery for Mexican girl Denver, CO – A Kaiser Permanente allergist and his wife, a Lutheran minister, have mobilized the Denver community to help save a little Mexican girl who has a hole in her heart. Aurora Soto Lozano, age 8, will undergo surgery Wednesday, May 31, to repair the congenital heart problem. Dr. John Williams and the Rev. Dena Williams, pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church, have lined up a surgeon, a hospital, and airfare for Aurora, her mother, and her Mexican physician. "Aurora gets her life back, that's the cool part," said Dr. Williams, who has a photo of the girl pinned to the door of his office in the Kaiser Permanente Westminster Medical Office. Aurora's family had been told that she never would survive the heart defect she has had since birth. But advanced procedures at The Children's Hospital can repair her heart in a one-day outpatient surgery. She won't need to stay overnight in the hospital and can live her life without need of medications. Aurora's heart defect, a hole between her left and right ventricles, could have been treated with medication if it had been discovered early. But Aurora is among Juarez's most destitute, living in the old city dump. Dr. San Juana Mendoza, a physician who runs a medical clinic there, has become Aurora's champion. Dr. Williams visited Dr. Mendoza's clinic on a trip to Juarez in March with his wife's church group. "The need was so great. I asked her if there was one thing I could do, what would it be. She said, 'Get Aurora some help.'" Aurora can walk only a short distance before she becomes winded and must sit to rest. She is too weak to attend school. Her heart defect--called patent ductus arteriosis--is beyond Dr. Mendoza's skill, but, "The expertise offered by The Children's Hospital in pediatric cardiology is the best available," Dr. Williams said. Dr. Chen Chan, pediatric cardiologist at The Children's Hospital, agreed to perform the surgery at no charge, and The Children's Hospital will provide its facilities at a greatly reduced cost. Donors have covered the cost of airfare, which Frontier Airlines is providing at a discount, and Renaissance Hotels will provide lodging. John and Dena Williams are acting as the child's sponsor to the United States, under the auspices of Kaiser Permanente. During the operation, Dr. Chan will use a catheter to thread a coil through Aurora's femoral artery, working from an incision in her groin area. When the coil is in position, it will expand to fill the hole in the heart. She can be discharged from the hospital on the same day if there are no complications. It is expected that the surgery will allow her to live a normal life, without need for further medications. Contributions may be made to the Aurora Lozano Special Account and mailed either to Mountain States Bank, 1635 E. Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80218; or to Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda Ave., Denver, Colorado 80246. Any donations above the cost of Aurora's needs will be donated to: Cristo Rey Centro Luterano, El Paso, to sponsor dental supplies, medicines, and scholarships for the missionary clinics of Juarez.
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