Dorothy Headley, mother of Ryan Smith. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Dorothy Headley finds it difficult to explain how much she misses her five year-old son, Ryan Smith, who left Jamaica on an early American Airlines flight on Saturday, March 17, to undergo open-heart surgery at the Hartland Medical Centre in St. Joseph, Missouri.

On Thursday, March 22, he underwent surgery and is scheduled to do another in a couple of weeks. Trying unsuccessfully to mask her anxiety, Headley explained his medical condition, wishing she could be with him.

"He was okay at birth, but when he was about three months old, I noticed his fingers getting dark at the tips, and he was constantly blowing short. I took him to the May Pen Hospital and the doctors diagnosed a heart problem," she said.

"They gave me a letter to take him to the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston. After several visits there, a Dr. Scott referred him to the clinic at the University Hospital where he said surgery would be done. I have been going to them for months with nothing happening, so I did not go back.

Needed surgery

"I started taking him back to May Pen Hospital and a doctor there told me about Dr. William Foster. The first day I took him in, Dr. Foster did some tests and told me my son was very sick. He said he needed surgery as early as possible," said Headley.

That was two months ago. Dr. Foster worked really fast and made all the arrangements. All Headley paid was the doctor's fee. Arrangements were made for Ryan to stay with a sponsor family for the duration of his surgeries and recuperation period.

"The morning I took him to the airport, I was so sad. He was crying at first when he knew I would not be going with him. But the lady who came for him brought a teddy bear and gifts, and these cheered him up," she recounted. "She told me not to fret because everything would be okay, and that she would take very good care of Ryan. Dr. Foster was there as well to see him go off. "

Anxiously awaiting her son's return, Headley shared that she is in constant communication with he family keeping her son. "I am actually awaiting a call tonight so I can speak with my son," she said with a smile.