Baby Zoudiera Jackson released from US hospital

Eight-month-old baby Zoudiera Jackson, who travelled to the United States for surgery just over two months ago, was able to spend quality time with her family this Christmas outside of a hospital setting.
According to the Communications Department within the Ministry of Health, the baby was released from the Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida on December 21, where she had been receiving treatment since October.
Baby Zoudiera, who was born with two holes in her heart, had undergone surgery on October 14th to correct the problem.
Her mother, Marecia Jackson-Williamson, told the ministry that, after the initial operation, Zoudiera had some challenges that required her to have two other surgeries. One was in relation to removing fluid from her lungs, while the other was to address the intestinal mal-rotation.
The mother of six explained that since the last
surgery her daughter has been showing much improvement, and she is grateful for the assistance from the Ministry of Health, through Health Minister Molwyn Joseph and the Medical Benefits Scheme.
She also stated that although her daughter is now out of the hospital, she will have to return in two weeks for a follow-up examination, after which doctors will be able to determine if it is safe for her to travel home to Antigua.
The government of Antigua and Barbuda paid for the entire surgery which cost US $25,000.