11-Year-Old Girl from Uganda is 50,000th Gift of Life Patient

St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center and Gift of Life have once again partnered to provide life-changing heart surgery to a child in need, an 11-year-old girl from Uganda. Brilliant Phillipah traveled from Africa to Roslyn, New York, to become the 50,000th patient to receive a lifesaving surgery due to the generosity of the Gift of Life program. 

Brilliant was brought to Long Island by Gift of Life for a procedure to fix a large patent ductus arteriosus—an opening between the two main blood vessels leading from the heart that should close at birth. Over the course of Brilliant’s life, this opening has grown, causing her heart to work fifty percent harder than it should. This condition typically results in challenges with a child’s growth and development, as well as increased susceptibility to life-threatening pneumonia and illnesses.

This is a relatively common defect that was traditionally rectified through open heart surgery. St. Francis Hospital Chair of Pediatric Cardiology Sean Levchuck, MD, was able to perform a minimally invasive procedure to save Brilliant, using a catheter to guide a device to close the ductus arteriosus. The successful procedure was performed on September 4; Brilliant recovered at St. Francis Hospital.

“Our heart specialists are among the very best in the world,” said its President & CEO Patrick O’Shaughnessy, DO, MBA. “So when we learn that a child in a faraway place needs our expertise, we volunteer our services. To see them smile right after the procedure, and to know they will return to their homeland to live a long and healthy life, is the greatest reward.”

Dr. Sean Levchuck has been performing these procedures for nearly three decades.  He calls this a special day for St. Francis Hospital and Catholic Health.

“I know I speak for the whole team when I say how honored we are to have cared for Brilliant,” said Dr. Levchuck. “Long term, were this defect not corrected, she likely would have developed something called pulmonary hypertension, which is deadly. It’s been a blessing to help give her an opportunity to live a long, healthy life.”

Brilliant and her mother, Bridget Nakazibwe, flew to New York from Uganda in late August.  “I’m so grateful to St. Francis Hospital and Gift of Life,” said Bridget. “God leads the way—we are in the right place. We traveled across the world to St. Francis Hospital so Brilliant could receive this surgery.” 

St. Francis Hospital has long partnered with Gift of Life to help children worldwide who do not have access to lifesaving cardiac procedures. Dr. Levchuck is one of many physicians who donate their time and services to perform these minimally invasive procedures to treat congenital disorders.

“St. Francis has sustained a strong partnership with Gift of Life over the last fifty years,” said St. Francis Hospital President Charles L. Lucore, MD, MBA. “Our expert cardiologists have corrected heart defects through minimally invasive surgical techniques for decades. In parts of the world where children do not have access to this specialized care, we welcome the opportunity to invite them here so we can provide the advanced cardiovascular care we are known for.”

For 50 years, the global network of Gift of Life has helped more than 50,000 children from 80 countries. In 1975, the first Gift of Life patient received a lifesaving heart surgery at St. Francis Hospital. 

“Fifty years ago, our first Gift of Life patient was a young girl from Uganda, who was also cared for by the team at St. Francis Hospital,” said Gift of Life International President Robbie Donno. “This is a full-circle moment for our organization. We are extremely thrilled for our patients and their families, and grateful to the St. Francis team for caring for these children.”