Mariana Iglesias
08/08/2020 - 18:21
- Clarín.com
- Society
It is Sunday early, a video arrives on WhatsApp, and what a proud godfather sends the images everywhere . "It's Felipe receiving his diploma, he finished high school," explains Juan Carr excitedly. How many godchildren will Juan Carr have? But Felipe Bernava is special.
Mariana was 20 weeks pregnant when in a routine ultrasound a specialist detected that something was wrong with the baby in her heart . Later, other studies confirmed that it was left ventricular hypoplasia syndrome : the ventricle would be too small to maintain circulation throughout the body. The baby did not have much chance of living once it was born: "5% ", the doctors risked.
Eduardo Kreutzer, head of Cardiology at the Pedro de Elizalde Children's Hospital, explained it bluntly: "It is practically incompatible with life . " Left ventricular hypoplasia syndrome is one of the most severe diseases that affect the heart , part of the five percent of congenital heart diseases that one percent of the population has.
Felipe today, ready for his graduation ceremony
But local doctors gave a tip: at the Children's Hospital in Boston, the United States, a technique was performed that could save the baby: it cost 100,000 dollars. The chances of living were 95% .
It was June 2001 . Mariana and Fernando, her partner, were two lawyers, 30 and 34 years old. They already had a daughter, Macarena, one year old. They traveled to Boston and yes, the specialists confirmed the technique, the experience and the chances of survival. The couple at that time worked in Courts and requested the expenses to the social work of the Judicial Power of the Nation, which refused .
Mariana and Fernando approached Juan Carr, who organized a note in the garden of his house to say: "We need one hundred thousand Argentines to donate one peso . " It was one on one. The couple felt ashamed to ask, anger at the rejection of the social work to which they had contributed for so many years.
Felipe Bernava, as a family. He still lives in Boston.
The response from the people was immediate. In a few days there were 14,000 deposits in 320 branches of Banco Nación throughout the country, 60 percent were from people who donated between 1 and 5 pesos and who lined up at the banks. There was no such thing as electronic banking.
"Without a doubt it was the most successful collection we organized ," Juan Carr said at the time. The Argentine soccer team donated 25,000 pesos and Marcelo Tinelli, another 5,000. "People did more Justice than Justice," Fernando concluded.
Felipe was born on October 20, 2001 at 7:26, after three hours of labor. He weighed three and a half kilos, and was admitted to intensive care . A few days they made the first intervention.
Instead of suturing the wound, the doctors placed a transparent tape so that Mariana and Fernando could see Felipe's heart . The technique, called Norwood, consisted of using the pulmonary artery to make a conduit into the lung for blood to flow from the heart. The operation lasted five hours.
Felipe, in a family photo on his graduation day.
When he was five months old , Felipe and his family traveled to Buenos Aires. Grandparents, cousins, uncles, everyone wanted to meet him. On March 28, he was baptized in the Parish of the Holy Spirit in Villa Urquiza. The godfather, of course, was Juan Carr.
Shortly after, there was the second operation: a right ventricular bypass (the junction of the superior vena cava with the pulmonary artery). At the age of three, it was the third surgery that completed this bypass: they connected the inferior vena cava with the pulmonary artery so that the blood could travel all the way from the heart to the lung. Then there was a fourth . Lots of catheterizations, and medication for life.
Felipe was born on October 20, 2001 at 7:26, after three hours of labor. He weighed three and a half kilos, and was admitted to intensive care.
“I recently graduated and now I am going to a university that I really like. Unfortunately I will have to take the first semester online because of the virus . At first we discussed whether I was going to go or not and whether they should give me a room to myself or not. I finally decided that I am going to take the first semester for Zoom to reassure my parents, ”says Felipe from Boston.
Mariana and Fernando had to choose, and they chose to live near the hospital in which Felipe must control himself. There they put together this new life . They give Spanish classes. They had another son, Tati, who is now 9. Macarena, 20, is studying Communication. Felipe loves soccer, play and Queen . He is a fan of Messi and Maradona. He wrote an email to Leo a few years ago, when he threatened to leave the national team. Messi sent him a shirt.
Felipe with his sister Macarena.
“I play soccer but not as much as before because here there are no clubs that continue after the age of eighteen, so I spend my time rallying with friends and practicing on the field , sometimes alone,” says Felipe. I am interested in creating videogames and at university I am going to take computer and design classes. I'm going to try it, and if I'm interested in something else, I can change it ”.
The pandemic did not allow them to travel to Argentina this year, and the care with Felipe is extreme. “I miss the whole family and my friends, who push me to be an Independiente fan , but here I have my friends from school to have fun and enjoy the summer. Since we can't see each other in person, we talk while playing Play or chatting. Luckily football came back here after the virus and that keeps me entertained at home all these months. I follow Barça and I don't miss a game, but if there is another big club playing, I also start to watch because I like it a lot. I have the dream that one day I will be able to meet my idols, Leo and El Diego, who lately have been watching his videos, and I also bought a T-shirt from him on Amazon ”.
The cosmic kite T-shirt that Felipe bought
Felipe sends the photo by WhatsApp: it is the one with the cosmic kite . Fernando sends videos of Felipe kicking the goal. Due to the pandemic, he cannot play with anyone else. So score goals alone, play Fortnite, FIFA, Warzone . Listen to Queen: "I like Freddie so much ... but I found a singer who sings almost the same, his name is Marc Martel . Last year I went to a concert and I loved it. I follow him on the Internet because sometimes he does live concerts from his house, on Monday the 10th he is going to do another one and I'm going to watch it.
Felipe is a fan of Messi. The footballer sent him a shirt.
“Feli's graduation was delayed by the pandemic but in the end it was now done outdoors. When Mariana handed him the diploma, it was like a second in which all the pieces came together , I think of that moment and I can't help but get excited, ”says Fernando. He admits that distance weighs the most, and the current moment doesn't help. Every year they have traveled to Argentina. Felipe, every time he was in Buenos Aires, joined projects in solidarity with Juan Carr.
"I am very proud and very happy, " says the godfather. Not only because of him and who he is, but because of what the commitment of the whole country meant at that time ”. Felipe has an email in which he can receive greetings: Graduaciondefeli2020@yahoo.com
I kept reading
Tell me again
Blow of life: they survived the white desert thanks to an incredible caravan of solidarity
Society
Tell me again
The "pink lady" who is not afraid of anything and helps give birth in the middle of the pandemic
Society
Tell me again
The first "rebel" of the quarantine continued to sunbathe on a neighbor's balcony
Society