“My name is Paul Regis and I consider myself very fortunate to have been Caribbean Heart Care’s very first patient open heart surgery patient. In 1992, I found out that I needed triple bypass open heart surgery, a procedure which at that time was not being performed here in Trinidad.

“I considered the option of going abroad to Venezuela or to Miami for the surgery but learned from my cardiologist that Caribbean Heart Care Medcorp was in discussions with the Government to begin a Heart Surgery programme. Since the programme was due to start within months of my diagnosis, I decided to wait and have my surgery performed locally.

“I do not regret my decision. Prior to my surgery, I met with CHCm’s doctors and found them to be very kind and accommodating. They sat with me and explained the procedure in detail to me; they discussed both the benefits as well as the risks of having the surgery performed; and they even met with my family to listen to their concerns and answer their questions.

“No one pulled any wool over my eyes – my doctors at CHCm made sure I knew what to expect. I appreciated their frankness and felt comfortable with my decision to have my surgery done here in November 1993.

“The surgery itself went well and within six hours, I was able to get up. The ICU nurses were very attentive and hospitable and my doctor made regular visits to check on my progress. Sixteen years later at the age of 82, I’m still here and doing well. I give full credit to the surgeons, doctors and staff of CHCm for giving me the chance to live a long life.”

“Our story is an amazing one and the doctors of Caribbean Heart Care Medcorp made its ending a happy one. Jim and I have lived aboard our sailboat since 2003. One of Jim’s childhood dreams was to visit Trinidad, but little did Jim know when we set off from San Francisco that it would turn out to save his life!

“On our voyage to Trinidad while in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, Jim (who suffered from high blood pressure) developed chest pains. Thankfully, we had been given the contacts for several doctors there and soon learned that the arteries to Jim’s heart were blocked and needed three stents implanted. Fortunately, Jim’s heart problems were fixed and seven months later, we were able to continue on our journey to Trinidad.

“While in Trinidad Jim was due for a check up, so we made an appointment for him to have we thought would be a routine examination. Much to our surprise and shock, Jim failed his exercise stress test. Thankfully, we had his medical records with us and although they were written in Spanish, CHCm had no trouble reading Jim’s medical history since one of their cardiac specialists was a Venezuelan.

“We were told that one of Jim’s stents had collapsed and that it was advisable to have open heart surgery. Under stress, we asked ourselves: Should Jim fly back to the United States? Should he just have the bad stent replaced? Or should he have open-heart surgery in Trinidad?

“We met with CHCm’s cardiac team to determine what the best option was for Jim and eventually agreed to have his surgery scheduled for June 14, 2006. Jim received the best care possible. The doctors at CHCm were very knowledgeable, highly skilled professionals.

“Now, when people ask us about Jim’s surgery, we always say, “We had the best group of doctors anyone could ask for and our decision to have Jim’s surgery in Trinidad was the right one”. Three years later, we are still sailing and are very thankful to all those who helped give Jim a second chance in life.”

“My daughter Fiona was born at Mount Hope Maternity Hospital. Soon after we taking her home with me from the hospital, she started getting sick. She had problems taking her bottle, was vomiting a lot and her breathing became very fast so when she was only one month old, we had to take her to the clinic at Mt. Hope where Fiona had to receive immediate attention because her skin has started turning blue.

“Fiona remained in hospital for about three weeks while tests were done on her. It was only then we learned that our baby had problems with her heart and we were introduced to Caribbean Heart Care (CHCm) team of doctors . The doctors were very nice! We were told about Fiona’s heart problem was very complicated. Half of her heart had not developed; she had three holes in her heart; and there was a problem with her heart valves. Everything was explained to us. We understood that this type of surgery had never before been done in Trinidad; were advised of the risks involved; and knew the chances of her surviving surgery would not be 100 percent.

“Fiona had to have her surgery in three phases. The first, which was done when she was about two months old, was a procedure called ‘PA banding’ that went very well. A year later when Fiona was due for her second surgery, Mount Hope’s consultants told us that we should take her to Jackson Memorial Hospital in the U.S. Since we could not afford this, we approached the Minister of Health, who was able to arrange with Caribbean Heart Care to fly in a team of surgeons to perform Fiona’s next surgery in Trinidad in September 2006. Once again, we were given detailed explanations from CHCm so that we would understand Fiona’s problems, how the surgery would be done, which all helped to reassure us.

“Fiona is now a happy little four-year old who is doing so well, The only problem we are having with her now is that she eats too much. Thanks to CHCm and its competent team, she defied the odds and is now going to school. She is our miracle child.”

On Sunday, October 11th at approximately 2:00 PM, I was admitted to emergency at St. Clair Medical Centre as I was having a Heart Attack, which had started to develop while playing in a golf tournament.

The doctors and staff in emergency were polite an efficient and had me immediately hooked up to all necessary instruments to keep me alive . CHCm’s doctors who operated on me later, came over and introduced themselves to me.

Due to my condition, I don’t remember very much other than being wheeled into the cathlab and only after was I told that the Doctors who performed Angioplasty on me were part of a team of extremely well qualified and experienced Cardiologists from Venezuela operating in association with the local cardiologist of Caribbean Heart Care Medcorp Ltd, an arm of the St. Clair facility.

They discovered that I had two blocked arteries but due to my traumatized condition they were only able to perform one procedure on the artery blocked 100%. The second procedure to clear the other artery performed and successfully completed on November 17th. These Doctors, were all very professional and kept a keen eye on my recovery.

My wife and I would like to thank and commend St. Clair Medical Centre for having these wonderful Doctors available, true experienced professionals with tremendous bedside manners. The nursing staff (both local and foreign) in I.C.U. and the prep room, were wonderful caring people. My thanks also to the Administrative staff, who were at all times attentive and efficient.

It is reassuring to know that such a facility exists here in Trinidad and we have no hesitation in recommending the St. Clair Medical Centre (Caribbean Heart Care Medcorp Ltd.) for their “Caring for Caribbean Hearts”.