Founded in 2008, HeartGift San Antonio

At HeartGift San Antonio, our mission is to provide life-saving heart surgery to children from around the world.

Mended Hearts

Destinee
Quinton
Jose
Natalie

Destinee laughing and playing with bubbles prior to surgery4 - Copy (1)

Destinee – 18 months old – Belize

Destinee was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect (VSD), a hole in the wall that separates the heart’s lower chambers. She successfully underwent open-heart surgery under the care of pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. John Calhoon and the team at University Health in San Antonio. Immediately, Destinee was full of energy and recovered at light speed. Three short weeks later, she and her mom returned to Belize to begin living her best life!

Quinton Tumuhimbise

Quinton from Uganda was scheduled to be the first surgery of 2018. Just days before traveling to San Antonio he was admitted to the hospital with a blood infection. After recovering, his HeartGift surgery was rescheduled. To make this new schedule work, HeartGift worked with Samaritan’s Purse and two host families, the Ryan’s and Morgan’s came together to help provide Quinton with the gift of a mended heart on July 17th, 2018.

Jose Fuentes

Jose from Honduras had an exceptionally fun second birthday at Morgan’s Wonderland thanks to his Angel Sponsor Gordon Hartman and Morgan’s Wonderland. Shortly after receiving his HeartGift surgery in June of 2018, Jose recovered quickly and met his Angel Sponsor. After learning that Jose was about to turn 2 years old, it was insisted that his second birthday party would be at Morgan’s Wonderland. It was such a success that now all HeartGift children will have a chance to enjoy the all-inclusive award winning amusement park as part of their experience in San Antonio on their HeartGift journey. Gordon Hartman was also so moved by meeting Jose, he insisted on sponsoring another HeartGift recipient.

Natalie Galang

When Natalie Galang arrived to San Antonio from the Philippines in July of 2018 for her HeartGift surgery, she was the 3rd HeartGift recipient in San Antonio at the time. Her host family, Nat and Suzie Warner were instrumental in helping to secure 2 brand new car seats from the Cavender Auto Group to help accommodate the first time in San Antonio’s HeartGift history of having 3 children in town at once. With the help of University Hospital, they received free training on installation and adjustment to properly ensure safety of Natalie as she travelled to and from the Hospital. A mild infection delayed her surgery, but in early August she enjoyed a celebration of her first birthday and had recovered enough to have her heart mended. She recovered quickly enough to be released from the hospital in just 4 days!

Destinee: Destinee – 18 months old – Belize

Destinee was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect (VSD), a hole in the wall that separates the heart’s lower chambers. She successfully underwent open-heart surgery under the care of pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. John Calhoon and the team at University Health in San Antonio. Immediately, Destinee was full of energy and recovered at light speed. Three short weeks later, she and her mom returned to Belize to begin living her best life!
Quinton: Quinton Tumuhimbise

Quinton from Uganda was scheduled to be the first surgery of 2018. Just days before traveling to San Antonio he was admitted to the hospital with a blood infection. After recovering, his HeartGift surgery was rescheduled. To make this new schedule work, HeartGift worked with Samaritan’s Purse and two host families, the Ryan’s and Morgan’s came together to help provide Quinton with the gift of a mended heart on July 17th, 2018.
Jose: Jose Fuentes

Jose from Honduras had an exceptionally fun second birthday at Morgan’s Wonderland thanks to his Angel Sponsor Gordon Hartman and Morgan’s Wonderland. Shortly after receiving his HeartGift surgery in June of 2018, Jose recovered quickly and met his Angel Sponsor. After learning that Jose was about to turn 2 years old, it was insisted that his second birthday party would be at Morgan’s Wonderland. It was such a success that now all HeartGift children will have a chance to enjoy the all-inclusive award winning amusement park as part of their experience in San Antonio on their HeartGift journey. Gordon Hartman was also so moved by meeting Jose, he insisted on sponsoring another HeartGift recipient.
Natalie: Natalie Galang

When Natalie Galang arrived to San Antonio from the Philippines in July of 2018 for her HeartGift surgery, she was the 3rd HeartGift recipient in San Antonio at the time. Her host family, Nat and Suzie Warner were instrumental in helping to secure 2 brand new car seats from the Cavender Auto Group to help accommodate the first time in San Antonio’s HeartGift history of having 3 children in town at once. With the help of University Hospital, they received free training on installation and adjustment to properly ensure safety of Natalie as she travelled to and from the Hospital. A mild infection delayed her surgery, but in early August she enjoyed a celebration of her first birthday and had recovered enough to have her heart mended. She recovered quickly enough to be released from the hospital in just 4 days!

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News & Events

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Patient Updates

Andres Rodriguez, Honduras

After Andres had his HeartGift Surgery last October, he returned to Honduras with his mother Indira to celebrate his 5th birthday! He has been doing amazing and Indira shared that he “Had the best checkup of his life!” recently.

Bilegt Enkhbayar, Mongolia

Great news! Bilegt and his mother Oyun are both doing great in Mongolia! Bilegt had a massive hole between his ventricles and at 4 months old had to be rushed to San Antonio for his HeartGift Surgery in May of 2018. Upon recovery, the amazing team at University Hospital discovered a metabolic condition hindering his recovery which was masked by his congenital heart defect. Our local doctors were able to share their finding with his doctors in Mongolia and he continues to improve. Also while in San Antonio, his mother Oyun also got sick and needed surgical intervention, after a long recovery she is also doing much better and was able to take Bilegt to the local museum.

Komal, Uganda

After turning 3 years old shortly after her HeartGift surgery, Komal returned home to Uganda and is thriving. Her recent check-up results couldn’t have been much better and she is happy to be home with her family in Uganda.

Quinton Tumuhimbise, Uganda

Ever smiling, Quinton Tumuhimbise, has happily returned to his family in Uganda. He continues to gain strength and weight as his appetite continues to grow. He is very excited about returning to school and his favorite subject is Mathematics and loves to play soccer with his friends for as long as he is allowed.