A 7-year-old Saltillo, Mexico, boy on Monday underwent the first of three surgeries to correct a congenital heart defect, family friend Scott H. Clark said.

Hector Antonio Escalante-DeKoster suffers from tetralogy of Fallot, a common heart defect including a hole between ventricles and a narrowing near the pulmonary valve. Such defects partly block blood flow through lungs for oxygenation.Hector underwent his first surgery at Primary Children's Medical Center, one week after pediatric cardiologist Dr. Herbert Ruttenberg diagnosed him free of charge. The procedure on Monday included placement of a shunt between the heart and lungs, Clark said.

The surgery Monday was the first of two preliminary surgeries required in preparation for the operation to correct the heart defect, said Bonnie Midget, a hospital spokes-woman.

"The other preparatory surgery will be performed as soon as he recovers from the first operation. And the primary operation will be performed in one to two weeks, depending on how rapidly (Hector) recovers from the first two operations," she said.

Midget said Hector is receiving ongoing treatment at the hospital with the expectation that the hospital board will approve free care. The board is still awaiting medical information, she said.

The boy and his mother, Maria del Soccorro DeKoster-Lopez, were brought to Utah as part of Skyline student Eric Selin's Eagle Scout project.

The pair are staying with the Clark family. After Hector's hospital release, he and his mother will stay with members of the Sandy Willowcreek 9th Ward until he is healed.

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