CNN LIVE TODAY International Effort to Fix a Broken Heart Aired August 19, 2002 - 12:56 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We have a fascinating story about a very sick child who came to America seeking a life or death operation. Kathleen Koch has the story of a little Palestinian girl, and an international effort to fix a broken heart. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Everything is strange and frightening. Little Falastin Ali has been in a hospital before many times. The 2-year-old has a hole in her heart. Back home, on the West Bank, hopes for cure were distant when just making it in for treatment was an ordeal. RANIA AWWAD, TRANSLATOR: Back home, there is war, there is no security. There is no freedom. I sometimes try to take my child to the hospital and it's just random if I ever make it to the hospital or not. KOCH: So four humanitarian groups chose Falastin to be the first Palestinian child they've brought to Washington D.C. to have her heart repaired. The Palestine's Children's Relief Fund, Save a Child's Heart Foundation, the Larry King Cardiac Foundation and Rotary Gift of Life say, the problem is there are more sick Palestinian children than they can help locally. STEVE SOSEBEE, PALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: In the West Bank and Gaza, in Palestine, there is no local pediatric cardiac surgery team. She was very lucky, given the fact there are hundreds of other children like her who are not going to get the same chance of treatment that she had. KOCH: And her chances say doctors at D.C.'s Children's National Medical Center are good. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The good news is I think we can fix this problem very safely. KOCH: Doctors will use a new less invasive procedure. A catheter is inserted in a vein, into the heart, through the hole, and then wired disks are expanded, filling the space. Finally, the day arrives. Falastin is prepped for surgery, and a worried mother waits. (on camera): Doctors admit they're pushing limits by trying this procedure on Falastin, because she is so small and the hole in her heart is so large. (voice-over):Nearly the size after quarter in a heart only as big as a lemon. DR. MICHAEL SLACK, INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGIST: We are actually not absolutely certain that her defect is going to be closable with the device. There are other things around inside the heart that device could -- the edges of the device could actually interfere with, like valves, other veins coming into the chambers. KOCH: The procedure begins, challenges appear immediately. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not a lot of room. Part of the problem, I don't have much room over here for this size device. KOCH: After three tries, the device is in place. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it. OK, she did beautifully. KOCH: Falastin's heart, say doctors, will now develop normally. AWWAD: I never lost hope, I never lost faith in God, and also in the doctors and the good people at this hospital. KOCH: The next day, Falastin is happy and hungry. She is being discharged, and it's time to think about returning to Ramallah. AWWAD: It is not easy for me to stay away from my country, with war or no war. I have hope that eventually we will be able to have the freedom in Palestine that I have enjoyed here in America. But I have to go home. Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------
