SACRAMENTO – In an indication that he is getting stronger after open-heart surgery less than three weeks ago, the 7-year-old Haitian boy who was brought to the United States to have his congenital heart defect repaired will throw out the first pitch in the Sacramento River Cats game at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 5.
Lovensky Alexandre had his ventricular septal defect – a large hole between the two major chambers of the heart – repaired on April 15, 2010, by Children’s Center at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Teimour Nasirov, M.D.
Children typically heal faster than adults from open-heart surgery, and Lovensky is now riding bicycles and playing video games. He is scheduled to go home later this month.
The boy was discovered in Haiti by a Sacramento fire captain while she was volunteering at a clinic in Carrefour, Haiti. The boy was brought to the clinic by his mother, Roselene Ducelus, because the earthquake leveled the family’s home and Lovensky’s heart medicine was missing. Fire Capt. Barbie Law saw how frail the boy was and contacted Hessam Fallah, M.D., a Sacramento pediatric cardiologist, who petitioned Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento to perform the boy’s surgical repair for free. All of the doctors as well as the medical center donated their services.
Law brought the boy and his mother to the United States, but there was a language barrier as Lovensky and Roselene speak Creole. To help, the medical center’s Interpreter Services contacted a Sutter employee who speaks Creole and volunteers as an interpreter when needed. Pierre LaGuerre, who grew up in Haiti and works in Patient Access and Financial Services at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, introduced Lovensky and Roselene to his family, and Pierre’s 9-year-old son, Jepsen, befriended Lovensky and has even taught him how to play video games, which he had never played before.
A fund has been set up with for Lovensky and his family to help them survive in their earthquake-ravaged country when they return. Please make out checks to UNA-USA Sacramento and in the information line, write "For L. Alexandre-Haiti."
