A toddler with a rare heart condition is finally able to breathe on his own again after undergoing an operation lasting more than nine hours in Toronto.

The doctor in Bermuda who helped arrange the surgery for two-year-old Keyler Lopez-Mendoza has now raised more than $16,000 for his non-medical expenses.

Paediatrician Stephen West told The Royal Gazette he was moved to tears when he saw a picture of the infant after he was taken off a ventilator at the Hospital for Sick Children (HSC).

“I will admit that I shed a tear or two this morning, seeing him sitting up, smiling and with a bit of a mischievous look in his eyes,” he said.

As reported by The Royal Gazette earlier this month, Dr West heard about Keyler from the founders of US-registered charity Corner of Love, which has a Bermuda chapter.

The infant is from one of the remotest parts of Nicaragua and suffers from complex cyanotic congenital heart disease, which is literally turning him blue.

Dr West suggested applying to a charitable fund for international patients at the Hospital for Sick Children to enable him to get life-changing surgery — and the application was successful.

Keyler had his operation on August 7 and Dr West held a fundraising head shave for him the same day at his Wee Care surgery in Hamilton.

“Keyler’s case has been incredibly complex,” said Dr West. “On August 7, he was in the OR [operating room] for almost ten hours. Post-operatively, he had two fairly immediate major setbacks and required the most intensive care possible.

“The incredible skills of the doctors and surgeons at the Hospital for Sick Children are second to none and, without those skills and the advanced technology that they have at HSC, Keyler would most likely not have survived.

“Fourteen days after his initial surgery, Keyler was finally able to breathe on his own when the ventilator he had been on continuously since surgery was removed. As well, his sedation was finally removed and he was allowed to ‘wake up’.”

The doctor said the toddler’s plight had “certainly generated a lot of love and caring on this island”.

“For the most part, each recent post about Keyler has generated over 1,000 views on the Wee Care Paediatrics Facebook page. He has been in the thoughts and prayers of many people on this island. This has been so clearly demonstrated to me by the fact that we have now raised over $16,000 for Keyler.”

Dr West said Keyler was likely to remain in hospital for the next few weeks and would then probably stay in Toronto for outpatient care before returning to Nicaragua.

“I will be travelling to Toronto again in early September and am looking forward to seeing him again,” he said. “I will also hope to follow up with him at the beginning of December when I am next down in Nicaragua.”