Brilliant Phillipah, an 11-year-old from Uganda, was given the gift of life through heart surgery at St. Francis hospital.
Photo by Cameryn Oakes
A girl named Brilliant Phillipah from Uganda underwent heart surgery at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn in September. As a cardiologist placed the lifesaving device into her heart, she officially became the 50,000th child saved by Manhasset’s Gift of Life.
“The people in that operating room erupted in applause, all invested in this little girl’s life,” Gift of Life founder Robbie Donno said. “And in those moments spoke all the things that [Gift of Life Co-founder Frank Regnante] and I wanted to when we started. It’s not just the mechanism or the operation. It’s the spirit with which it exists.”
Gift of Life is an international organization that provides life-saving heart surgery to children worldwide who otherwise would not have access to necessary surgical procedures. The Manhasset Rotary Club and Donno founded the organization in 1975 and now provides about 5,000 surgeries per year, many of them for children who need it most.
“Never in our wildest dreams would Frank or I ever think that we’d be standing here 47-48 years later with a 50,000th child and a network of hospitals that have gone across the country, all across the world,” Donno said.
Gift of Life’s beginnings start at St. Francis Hospital, where Donno first sought out the partnership with Regnante, then the vice president for development, to provide lifesaving heart surgery to the first child treated in 1975.
St. Francis Hospital President Chuck Lucore described the hospital’s partnership with Gift of Life as a “privilege and honor.”
Brilliant was diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus as a baby, a heart defect that Lucore says causes a shunting of blood that can cause high lung pressure. Lucore said this can negatively affect longevity and diminish one’s exercise tolerance.
Dr. Sean Levchuck, a pediatric cardiologist who led the heart surgery, said he was honored to be a part of the team that helped save Brilliant’s life.
Brilliant didn’t have many words to describe her experience, but her bright smile spoke for itself as she wandered through the crowds with a playful attitude. She said she felt “good” after her surgery and spent much time reading.
Brilliant’s mother, Bridget Nakazibwe, thanked all those who helped save her daughter’s life but gave the ultimate thanks to God, as she could not do it without him. She thanked Gift of Life for “allowing God to use” them in their life-saving mission.
“You have good hearts, you people,” Nakazibwe said. “I’ll continue telling you that you have given me a story that I will never stop to tell, a song that I’ll never stop to sing in my life, testimony that I’ll never stop telling.”
Donno highlighted the ensemble of people who made this life-saving surgery and historic milestone possible.
This included individuals who joined Gift of Life’s efforts from the very beginning, like St. Francis Hospital and Manhasset Rotarian John Kennedy, who sponsored the second child as a high schooler, as well as the crew of doctors and the Palumbo family who hosted Brilliant and her mother.
“All of this is color to the fact that you now have a little [11] year old girl, who now is going to go home with a new heart,” Donno said.
Nakazibwe extended gratitude to the Palumbo family who she said showed her so much love as she choked back tears.
“Whenever I will step I will say that I saw people, I met people – people full of love, full of care, hospitality,” Nakazibwe said.
She also thanked St. Francis Hospital for giving Brilliant a second chance at life.
Brilliant stood behind her mother as she spoke to the crowd, wiping away tears with a napkin but every now and then flashing a smile.
Nakazibwe said her time on Long Island and the people she has encountered inspired her to do the same when she returns to Uganda.
“I’ll try as much as possible, the riddle that I have to meet the needy ones,” Nakazibwe said. “To give them the word of courage that one day, one time, the door will open for you as god did to me.”
This trip was the first time Brilliant and her mother came to the United States, which she called the “second heaven on Earth.”
“Gift of Life, you have done more than good to me,” Nakazibwe said.