It could be an idyllic family scene from any one of many homes in Newtown: three older children clustered about a baby in a bouncy seat, while the fire in the fireplace crackles behind them and the adults chat amicably nearby. This family picture, though, is a special blend of children and adults.

One of the adults is Hazel Ricardel-Alquilos, a native of Cebu in the Philippines. The “baby” is her son, Bezalel, such a wisp of a 2-year-old, at just 15 pounds, that it seems one puff of wind outside the door could send his frail form tumbling.

Bezalel is a Biblical name meaning “Under God’s Protection,” according to the 2-year-old’s mother. And since arriving in Connecticut, Wednesday evening, February 18, the little boy could be said to be “under the protection” of the Newtown Rotary Club Challenge for the Gift of Life. He is also “under the protection” of Newtown Rotary member Dan Rosenthal, his wife, Meri Jitsukawa, and their children, Hana, Emi, and Ben. The Rosenthal family is hosting the mother and child while Bezalel undergoes heart surgery, which was scheduled at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford, Friday morning, February 27.

The warm welcome extended her has been a welcome contrast to the freezing temperatures and piles of snow, said Ms Ricardel-Alquilos.

“So much snow! I have never even seen any snow. I had no idea how cold it was, until we got off the plane in Detroit,” she said.

The Gift of Life provides funding for lifesaving surgeries for children around the world who would otherwise not have the access to the medical care needed, nor the means to pay for what can be tens of thousands of dollars in surgery. The Newtown Rotary Club has saved 31 young lives over the past year, said Pat Caruso of the Newtown Rotary Club, and have six more surgeries it is supporting in El Salvador.

The local Rotarians have had the opportunity to meet with only two of the many children they have sponsored. Almost exactly one year ago, the Rotary Club sponsored Genesis Fuentes, a 3-year-old girl from Belize. Genesis was hosted by the Mike Toll family in Newtown, while waiting for and recovering from open-heart surgery. In August, the Newtown Rotary Club members met 13-year-old Arben Lajqui and 2-year-old Leona Hoti of Kosova, both in America for heart surgery, due to the Gift of Life program.

Bezalel will have heart surgery at CCMC under the direction of Dr Harris Leopold and pediatric cardiologist Dr Frederic Bernstein. Like many of the hospitals and surgeons who support the international Rotary Gift of Life program, the doctors will donate their time, and Children’s is donating facilities. The Newtown Rotarians will donate between $5,000 and $6,000 for the surgery, said Mr Caruso.

Bezalel’s health issues have been many, from the day of his birth, December 5, 2012. When she was just five weeks pregnant, his mother was infected with Rubella measles. The virus is very dangerous to a fetus.

After a difficult pregnancy, he was born at 36 weeks gestation, weighing barely over two pounds. He has cataracts in both eyes, is deaf, and was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia, a very low blood platelet count. He also has two coronary heart diseases, PDA (posterior descending coronary artery, a vein abnormality in which a gap that normally closes at birth has not done so) and VSD (ventricular septal defect, a hole in the heart).

According to an e-mail biography sent to Rotary members, “Despite all these congenital defects he was born with, he never failed to smile each day and be happy and play… Bezalel would always find ways to learn and to adapt to his environment despite his blindness and deafness. I taught him to feel his voice through holding his hand over my neck as I speak to him, or sing to him. He would always have this expression on his face as if he is listening,” said his mother.

“As his parents, his voice and his advocate,” Ms Ricardel-Alquilos said, “we refuse to give up on him or to lose hope though we have gone through those moments when we always get turned down because of his anomalies, whenever we reach out to the charity, because we don’t have all the resources to pay for his surgeries. We went through frustration, tears, and heartbreaks because we wanted to give him the best care he could receive — but we just can’t, because we cannot afford it. Despite it all, our son has showed to us immense strength as his heart holds on, as we hope to be able to provide him the care he needs for his heart to be mended.”

The Rosenthals are enamored with Hazel and Bezalel, or “Bez” as they have nicknamed the little boy. Weakened by his heart conditions, Bez does little more than sleep long stretches. But when he opens his unseeing eyes, he smiles in response to the gentle touches of the young hands stroking his arms and face. He stretches scrawny arms overhead to pull away a soft toy Ben has gently draped over his face. His grunts seem ones of pleasure as he stretches, but Ms Ricardel-Alquilos and the Rosenthals can attest that Bezalel can be quite vocal during his awake periods.

It has been a flurry of activity, said Ms Jitsukawa, since they found out on February 13 that the mother and child would be their guests in just a matter of days. Hosting them was something Mr Rosenthal had requested, but it was unclear when that would be.

A Way To Save A Life

“Last year, when Genesis was here, I always thought it would be nice to do this. We’re very happy about it. You can send a check to support an effort, but this is a way to be involved, to see it, and to put it bluntly,” said Dan Rosenthal, “to save a life.”

Friends have been eager to help since Ms Jitsukawa put out an SOS that they needed baby equipment by February 18. “They loaned me a baby swing, a high chair, and the bouncy seat. When people hear the story, everyone wants to do something,” she said.

The quick trip to the United States was almost as much a surprise for the Alquilos family. They had raised money through a Facebook fundraiser to help pay for part of the surgery Bezalel needed, and had scheduled surgery at a hospital in Manila, for January 5. The year before, Rotary International had brought Gift of Life on a medical mission to Cebu, and Bezalel was assessed. Because of his many developmental delays, though, he was not selected for surgery there.

“The facility is not fully equipped to take on a child with his problems,” said his mother. Their only option was to raise the money themselves for the expensive surgery, and go to Manila.

On December 30, Hazel and Wilbert Alquilos received a belated Christmas present: Gift of Life was bringing Bezalel to Connecticut for surgery. They canceled the Manila operation, and using funds raised, Ms Ricardel-Alquilos and Bezalel boarded the first of several planes, and a 20-hour trip later, arrived at Bradley Airport.

The timing for the surgery was dependent on hospital availability, said Rotarian Pat Caruso. “Then Children’s said they would work around our schedule, and it all moved so fast,” he said.

Ms Ricardel-Alquilos keeps a positive attitude going into the surgery. Bezalel underwent eye surgery for cataracts December 13, and did very well, so his mother said she is feeling relaxed.

“Whenever the doctors say anything negative about him, he proves them wrong, and beats the odds. So,” she said, “there is no way to really tell the prognosis [for his long-term health].”

She also received some good news at his presurgery checkup on Monday, February 23. The hole in his heart is small enough that it will probably close on its own as Bezalel grows. Open-heart surgery would not be necessary, and riskier than letting nature take its course.

The PDA will be repaired via a catheter snaked through his groin and into his heart.

If all goes well, Bezalel will be in the hospital only one day, then back at the Rosenthal’s “for as long as they need to be,” Mr Rosenthal said. Ms Ricardel-Alquilos hopes that she and Bezalel will be back with his father on March 31.

The surgery could be a turning point for the Alquiloses’ only child.

“His breathing will be much better, and his heart will not be under such stress as he grows,” said Ms Jitsukawa. Because of the heart defects, Bezalel’s heart flutters rapidly, all day and all night. As he gets stronger, she said, his mother may be able to physically challenge the little boy more and “maybe one day he will crawl.”

“There will definitely be progress,” Ms Ricardel-Alquilos said, “but we can never expect him to catch up to other kids. But we don’t need that. He has his own pace.”

Changing Lives

It is special for Newtown Rotarians to get to meet a parent and child they are supporting, said Mr Caruso.

“It changes lives. It changes all of us,” he said.

“I feel lucky, and I feel lucky my kids have gotten exposed to this,” said Mr Rosenthal. “It reminds you that we take a lot for granted here. Surgeries that would just be done here… in other countries, it is prohibitively expensive and not accessible. I’m glad to have met Hazel and look forward to following Bez’s progress,” he said.

The Rosenthal children agree that Bezalel and his mother are a wonderful extension of their family. Patting Bezalel’s arm, Ben turns to the adults and declares, “He’s the best baby on the street!”

To learn more about Bezalel and follow his progress, visit Facebook.com/bezalelsheart.