The Medical Advocacy Team

Raul FINALLY has approval!

2011-06-17T12:51:00.000-04:00

Sorry for taking so long to update everyone on the latest happenings of the Medical Advocacy Team. We got great news yesterday from one of our dedicated volunteers that has been working on helping Raul for a year now... remember his story HERE... well he finally has approval to come to the US for life saving medical care.
Caroline is currently raising funds for his plane ticket. If you want to read more about Raul and his journey, please visit this link:
Help Support Raul

Finally... an update on Brown!

2011-03-06T13:16:00.002-05:00

I am so sorry for taking so long to get this update done.
Brown is doing very well. He had his surgery a few weeks ago in February. Very soon he will be getting his prosthetics and then he begins therapy. His "new legs" will last 2-3 years. Doesn't he look amazing?
We are very grateful that he has a wonderful host family caring for him during this life changing time in his little life.

Brown update

2010-11-19T10:29:00.002-05:00

Brown is now with his host family!

Thank you all for your prayers

and donations towards the airfare.

Its amazing to see him finally HERE.

He will be having surgery in January.

They will amputate one leg below the knee

and they will keep the ankle of the other leg

which will help Brown as he learns to walk.

His prosthetic legs will be put on in

surgery with the hope that he can

start walking ASAP.

Thank you to our great host family

for your patience in waiting for Brown to

arrive and for your lovely update!

Brown Update

2010-10-28T10:53:00.002-04:00

Browns ticket has been bought!
Thank you everyone for donating to this cause.
He will be arriving in the USA very soon and we will post updates and pictures during his time here.

Sorry we have not been doing a good job at keeping the blog updated. We have a LOT of children waiting for medical care and we are having a hard time finding the time to even devote to finding the care for the children in need. And then when we do have hours to spend (spread between several volunteers) we are finding it very difficult to find care for the children. Some of the children need care closer to home, while others are waiting to come the USA. Either way- finding the care is difficult.

We appreciate your prayers for the waiting children and their families!
More soon...

Help Needed

2010-10-11T19:01:00.003-04:00

It's time!!

Sweet little Brown is ready to travel to American for life-changing medical care but the the MAT and his referring organization needs some help with the cost of his plane ticket. It looks like his ticket from Liberia to Chicago is going to be about $2,000.

Could you help with a few dollars to get this precious little one here?

Donations can be made right here on our blog (right hand side bar) through paypal or let me know if you'd like to send a check and we can arrange that as well. Please make note in paypal that the donation is for "Brown's ticket".

We will keep you updated on Brown's progress.

Please keep him in your prayers!

Lots of updates

2010-08-15T12:31:00.002-04:00

Sorry for taking so long giving an update. We have been blessed with hard working new and old volunteers and have had a recent influx of referrals from Haiti, Liberia and East Africa of children who need medical care desperately. We are working on updating the side bar to show the current children that we have waiting to come for medical care (but this will take several days.)

Heart Patients:
We had several children waiting for heart surgery from Haiti. We have been unable to get updates on these children since the earthquake in January. Please keep them in your prayers.

Haiti:
We have several new referrals from Haiti and some older referrals that have been waiting for a long time. One recent referral is a baby with a brain tumor. This child is not doing very well and his family has had so much loss in recent months. Please pray for them!

Liberia:
We still need cardio thoracic surgeons to help with the children who have caustic soda poisoning and neurosurgeons to help with two little ones who have hydrocephalus and need VP shunts.

East Africa:
We have several little boy babies waiting for specialists!

Raul in Romania:
Caroline was able to get Raul (baby with EB) approved for charity care and she is now waiting on Romania to process his approval to come over for medical care. Please keep this situation in your prayers.

Ermane from Haiti:
Ermane is doing well however he will need several more surgeries and his time here has been extended greatly. His mother has to return to Haiti this week so that she can start getting their lives back together post earthquake- she hopes to repair or have a new home soon and start her business back up. Ermane is feeling OK about staying without his Mom but certainly this is going to be difficult! Please keep them in your prayers as well.

Raul from Romania

2010-06-06T11:44:00.002-04:00

One of our volunteers, Caroline, has been in Romania helping at an orphanage for quite sometime now. She was really moved by one babies plight for life and has been working on raising funds to bring back life saving medical supplies for him. She is also working on getting charity care lined up for him in the USA.

Raul has one of the most devastating diseases, here is a little more about him from Caroline:

Raul was born in October 2009 as part of a set of twins, both affected with a genetic skin condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa. EB causes skin to blister with even slight pressure or friction. Sadly, Raul's twin passed away at one month old due to complications. Raul was moved to a nearby clinic at five months old, which is where he is currently living. Due to his condition, Raul requires painful daily bandaging and wound care. The only supplies available locally are harsh on his fragile skin, so I am raising funds to continue to supply wound care items from the U.S. Over the last few months with the international bandages I have seen him become a smiley and alert little boy, despite his condition. There is no cure, or even treatment, for EB, but these bandages give his skin a better chance at healing and help to prevent new wounds. Please help me to continue to provide these much needed supplies!

If you are interested in donating to this cause please visit: http://www.giveforward.org/raul/

If you have medical supplies to donate here are some of the items that are needed prior to her leaving on the 25th are:
skin layers, telfa, non-stick gauze, gauze rolls, etc.

To read more about Caroline and Raul you can visit her blog at: http://tutovababies.blogspot.com/

URGENT NEED

2010-06-01T22:55:00.001-04:00

The Medical Advocacy Team is in urgent need of a host family in Cleveland, Ohio or within a few hours who would be willing to host Ermane and his Mom for the remainder of the stay that they have in the USA.
The current host family (my mother) is coming here to visit soon and the 2nd host family has had a terrible emergency and won't be able to host them.

Please pass this on to anyone you know
Thanks so much!

Ermane's Big Flight

2010-05-12T11:52:00.001-04:00

http://agapeflights.wordpress.com/
Check out this link to view a video of Ermane flying.
Thanks so much Agape Flights for helping to bring
Ermane and his Momma Marie to the USA.
Agape is a wonderful organization doing big things for Haiti.

Host family for Haiti

2010-05-04T11:14:00.000-04:00

First day in the USA

2010-04-30T23:09:00.002-04:00

Here is Ermane and his host cousin Keller
getting ready to go outside and play soccer
we are so thankful that they arrived safely
and things are going well :)

Plane in the air!

2010-04-27T13:25:00.001-04:00

Keep the prayers going- the plane is in the air and on
the way to Haiti. There are strong head winds so please
keep the pilot and passengers in your thoughts and prayers.

More soon! :)

Please pray!

2010-04-27T10:18:00.002-04:00

We have Ermane and his Mom traveling from Haiti today. There have been weeks of logistics being planned by many people and this morning we found out that there is a four hour flight delay. Please pray that they are able to repair the plane and still travel today. And if not- please pray that things can be changed for them to leave Haiti as soon as possible.

Thank you!

***Also a reminder- please do not copy and paste pictures of children off our blog and post them other places. Thank you!!***

Updates

2010-04-14T10:01:00.002-04:00

Brown:
We now have a doctor and a hospital! Thank you everyone for coming forward with ideas and working so hard and fast to find Brown the care that he needs.

Varney:
We do have a doctor for him and we are anxiously waiting to hear if the hospital will accept him for charity care. Please keep this in your prayers.

Ermane:
Ermane and his Mom have approval from the USA to travel and we are just waiting on approval from Haiti and then have to get the logistics worked out for his travel. This MUST be done by the end of this month and we are hopeful that things will come together really soon.

Liberia:
The group that we work with in Liberia is over there right now getting updates and new pictures of all the children so we should have lots of news soon.

Haiti:
I had read that the Neurosurgery teams that were going to Haiti before the earthquake are no longer able to go. We are expecting an influx of referrals from Haiti in the months to come. We are working hard to get our host parents pre-approved.

A need:
One of our partner organizations that does incredible work for the people of Haiti is raising money to get their containers of medical and vital life care supplies over to Haiti while they can do so without paying the typical hefty customs fees. (The fees are being lifted just for a short period of time and this saves them thousands of dollars.) But to ship the containers from the US-to Haiti still costs a great deal of money. Please consider donating to this need at Real Hope for Haiti.

Other waiting children:
If there is anyone out there that is feeling like they know a doctor or hospital who might help some of our other waiting children we would love to hear from you:
sisters3designs@aol.com
We have had several children on the right sidebar for months waiting to get matched for charity care. We have also done extensive searches all over the country and have had a hard time finding places to help them.

Little updates

2010-03-23T13:12:00.002-04:00

Brown is from Liberia.

He needs an orthopedic surgeon.

Know one who might want to help?

Email me: sisters3designs@aol.com

We still have several children in dire

need of charity care from Liberia

who continue to wait. Please see the side

bar to read more about the waiting children.

Erman (picture below) and his Mom have

approval to travel to the USA from Haiti.

Now they need to get passports and

the documents completed and they will

be on their way to Ohio. If you had emailed

and offered to help- we really appreciate you!

Thanks so much. We welcome all the help

you have to offer and will be contacting

people soon in the Cleveland area for assistance.

Updates

2010-03-09T18:33:00.003-05:00

Thank you everyone who donated money and air miles for the waiting children in Haiti. We have enough donations to cover both Erman and his Mom to travel to the USA. Yeah!! We are much closer to having all of the documents gathered that they will need for approval to travel to Cleveland for Ermans facial reconstructive surgery.

We have also had $50 in donations for travel costs that will go towards Erman and his Mom's associated travel costs. Thank you!

We are so thankful that things have come together so fast.
What a blessing for this little boy and his Mother.

In other news... the three year old who was coming to West Virginia is not going to be coming any longer. His parents decided that they don't want him to travel to the USA at this time for medical care. His health situation is not good and because there was nothing else they could do for him the clinic he was at sent him home to be with his Mom and family. Please do keep them in your prayers. It was really a devastating feeling knowing how close he was to having the medical care that he needs. Even with all the specialists and doctors over working in Haiti right now- his medical needs were rare and somethings were unknown about what was happening with his health.

We are waiting on news about a potential hospital for Varney who has been waiting for far too long with severe hydrocephalus. We have run into a great number of road blocks in finding a doctor and hospital to treat him so we are hopeful.

We have a team of volunteers solely working on three of the children in Liberia waiting for Cardiothoracic surgeons. Hopefully this leads to good news soon.

Host Family Applications

2010-03-02T14:59:00.004-05:00

Click on this link

to download an application if you are interested in hosting a child.

You may scan and email it to smithjklc@hotmail.com. If you would like to mail it, please email Kim at the email address above to get the correct mailing address.

FAQ:

To apply, you do not need a homestudy or foster care license. If you have these it is nice to keep on file, but not required.
We will need identification and background checks on everyone over the age of 18 in the home, but not right away. Some families choses to wait to submit these until they are selected to host a child.
Your application is kept on file. Then when a child is coming to a specific area, we search the applications for the closest, most suitable home. If we don't have an applicant in the area, then we put the word out to generate more interest.

Wow!

2010-03-01T16:19:00.003-05:00

We have had $25 in donations and ONE airplane ticket in just the past day. What an awesome blessing. The airplane ticket was donated by someone who is going to use her air miles to purchase the ticket for one of the children. I should have mentioned that this would be a great and welcome blessing instead of money.

I also realized that this entire blog has been asking for a lot of money and volunteers lately. I always feel badly about asking for money but I know that when there's a need its the only way that we have to go about getting donations- every single donation we accept goes 100% for the cost of airfare or other need. We have NO overhead costs at all. Since we don't have overhead costs- that means we don't advertise other than on this blog and when people link our blog to theirs. We don't have any corporate sponsors but have had donations of medical supplies from corporate sponsors in the past.

So here are some pictures of the little boy going to Ohio. Please consider helping towards the cost of his plane ticket- and we need to raise funds for one for his mother as well. Or air miles would be great! Although this little guy looks miserable we have great hope for him and we can't wait to see his "after" pictures. Thanks everyone.

Help needed

2010-02-26T21:16:00.003-05:00

We need your help.

We have two children that need to come to the USA from Haiti in the next week if we can get the approvals in place. Both of the children are in urgent need of medical care, the medical care is not available in Haiti even with all the doctors and specialists there right now.

One of the children is a nine year old boy. He was crushed in the earthquake. His face was partially crushed. We have a wonderful hospital and doctors in Cleveland who have come forward to donate their time and resources to give this boy reconstructive surgery. We are also hopeful that we will have a flight for him and his Mom to the USA from Haiti. But we do not have the funds raised to bring them from Florida to Ohio. We will need to purchase two tickets for them- and of course round trip is needed because they will return to Haiti once the boys treatments and surgeries are finished.

The other child is a three year old boy. He will be coming to the USA by himself with an escort. We have arranged for free care for him in West Virginia and we are hoping to have approval for him to leave ASAP. He has been very ill with an unknown illness. Tests need to be run and doctors in the USA are already consulting on how they might be able to help him. The neurological prognosis for him is not good if we can't get him here fast. There are just many unknowns that need answered. We will need a plane ticket for him and we need to raise the funds for this. We will also rely on wonderful missionary flights to bring the child to Florida from Haiti- but we need a ticket from Florida to W. VA.

So funds for three domestic plane tickets is what we are hoping for. I am so grateful to everyone for all your help and support. Every little bit helps! Just use the pay pal button on the side of the blog to make a secure donation. Thanks again.

Needed

2010-02-23T21:45:00.003-05:00

The 3 year old we were seeking medical care for is going to be coming to West Virginia! We are still in need of host family or parent to care for him. We have a family who is able to provide excellent care and therapy for him after he is out of the hospital, but they are unable to stay with him while he is there. If you are able to stay with him during his hospital care, we would love to hear from you as soon as possible. We don't know how long he will be in the hospital. If you can help, please fill out a host family application found on this site, or email Kim at smithjklc@hotmail.com. Thank you!

We are also in need of a host family in CLEVELAND. This host family would be helping care for a nine year old boy and his mother while they are in town. The boy is going to be getting facial reconstructive surgery as he was injured in the earthquake. Please consider what you might be able to do to help them- or pass this along to anyone you know in Cleveland. contact Sarah: sisters3designs@aol.com for more information. Thank you!

Thank you!

2010-02-22T12:13:00.005-05:00

Thank you so much for helping to fill the need at this orphanage! They were able to purchase nets for each bed, a big bag or rice, beans and 20 gallons of cooking oil. Also $50 worth of fruit and vegetables- which was a TON!

This is just in from Salem:

I let them know we have bed nets, rice and beans for the children. We opened the back of the truck and everyone (including the director!) started SCREAMING, jumping up and down, hugging, whooping, dancing. It was such pure, genuine joy and gratefulness. K. and I were both in tears at their excitement. It was like Christmas morning times 10! You have never seen children so grateful, so thrilled just to get a mosquito net for the bed. We watched as children with enormous smiles on their faces were handed a net and raced to their dorm to start putting it up. We tried to help get the nets up but we weren’t very good at it (as I was told!) so we let them do that. They know how it is supposed to be done. :)

Then K presented the second part of the surprise. She told the director that we were going to take him to the market and buy 100,000 shillings worth of fresh fruits and vegetables for the children. He played it really cool at the market as we filled up the back of the SUV with bags of potatoes, greens, onions, peppers, carrots, cucumbers, watermelon, pineapple, passion fruits, etc. I mean FILLED the back of the SUV. It was so fun. We got back to the orphanage and as soon as the Director got out he grandly opened the back of the SUV to present all the food to the children and everyone started screaming, jumping up and down, dancing, etc again. It was like Christmas morning again! He showed his true excitement when he was with the children – he was dancing and screaming too. :)

The kids helped carry all the food into the house and put it in the kitchen. They kept wanting to pose with their various fruits and vegetables. Everyone stood in the kitchen just laughing, hugging and staring at the food for a bit. It was surreal.Moments like this make us feel so humbled. Each time I experience something like that I realize again just how spoiled I am. How spoiled we all are. How much we take for granted.

We took pictures of the children and got all of their names, ages and information. We are hoping to find sponsors for these kids. They aren’t able to go to school and they really want to. We’re still working out the details but it looks like school will cost less than $200 per child for the entire year.As we were hugging the children goodbye I couldn’t help but get emotional. I will never forget these kids. They have touched my heart is such a special way. Thank you SO SO MUCH for all you have donated and given to help them just a little bit. This food is a short term help for them, but their joy was worth every penny we spent. If we get more money in for them we’ll continue to get things for them as long as we are here. There are SO many needs at their home.

MAT Mini Project

2010-02-19T14:23:00.006-05:00

Salem- the co-director of The Medical Advocacy Team is in Uganda right now. She has been there for several weeks and has been visiting different orphanages. There is a little girl (not in any of these pictures) who is 7 years old that needs an adoptive family. Salem was specifically asked to put the word out about this little girl as she is with a family right now who is unable to keep her. Salem is also hearing of many other young children and babies with special needs that need families. If there is a way that we can get the word out for these orphanages and children we will help to do so. If you are interested in more information- just let us know and we will add you on a list to receive information once Salem has it all compiled and is back in the USA.

Salem and a friend visited this orphanage the other day. It is a really poor orphanage that has very little. It is being run by ONE person who is in charge of doing everything for all of these children with little resources. Salem said that there were many children very sick there and that they just don't have the basic things that they need and it was heartbreaking. They had brought a soccer ball for the older children to play with and their little faces just lit up with joy to have one ball to share.

Because of the urgent need at the orphanage Salem would like to be able to do something to help them while she is still there. The most urgent need was the medical needs because of the great risk of malaria in this area. Salem would like to be able to purchase mosquito nets and sheets for this orphanage. Nets will save the lives of the children who are able to sleep under them. The "girls room" is shown below and they have three girls per bed- as you can see there are many children left without a protective net at night.

MAT would like to raise $200 for this need to be filled ASAP. We value your support and generosity in the past and we know we can count on you. Every $1 helps and there is paypal on the right side of this blog that you can use a credit card or other form of payment to send a secure donation. Below is the kitchen that feeds all the children at this orphanage. If there are extra funds raised Salem would like to provide them with some more items that they need.

Salem has traveled all over world and has done humanitarian work. She really is a reliable source of knowing the typical orphanage conditions and to hear her concern is really overwhelming as she is someone who "knows what to expect" and she isn't shocked easily. After visiting here- she was shocked and knew that there would be people out there who would want to step up and help out this orphanage. There are 40 children from infant to teen who live here and then another 40 come here to eat each day. Thanks for considering what you might be able to do to help them out.

Salem will update us once she is able to purchase and distribute supplies there. Many Blessings!

WV update

2010-02-18T12:29:00.001-05:00

Thank you to the families in or near WV who have sent in applications to host. Unfortunately plans have been put on hold while some important details get worked out. We'll keep you updated if things can move forward.

-Kim

Host family needed!!

2010-02-15T11:47:00.002-05:00

We are in need of a host family in or near WEST VIRGINIA.
You will need to commit and complete paperwork right away so we can have you approved. The child who is coming will need you to be at the hospital staying with them while they are in patient and then to bring them home for care afterward. The child is a three year old and is NOT available for adoption as he has a family and will return to his family when he is healthy enough to do so. Please email ASAP with your interest to:
Sarah: sisters3designs@aol.com
or
Kim: smithjklc@hotmail.com

Thanks so much everyone!

The latest....

2010-02-09T10:59:00.002-05:00

We do expect in the weeks to come that we will start seeing more need for host families, hospitals and doctors for many injured children in Haiti. I wanted to bring light of a very troubling situation that is now happening in Haiti to many children who need to leave for medical care:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/world/americas/09airlift.html?pagewanted=1

MAT has been so blessed by the response of everyones willingness to help! If you are looking for an application to host parent- please see below. If you still haven't turned in your "short" application- please do so soon.

Host Family Application

2010-01-27T11:05:00.008-05:00

Thank you all for your interest in helping the Medical Advocacy Team, and in hosting medically fragile children! If you are interested and have not yet contacted our team to obtain a host family application, please contact Sarah at sisters3designs@aol.com for an application to be emailed to you.

Can you help?

2010-01-26T12:29:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,
Children of the Promise near Cap Haitien Haiti is in need of both long and short term nurses. Yesterday they were supposed to receive up to 20 children via helicopter from Port au Prince. We think their internet might be out because Robin never heard if they got there or not. They are not sure of what type of injuries the children will have, but there will definitely be wound care. COTP is in the northern part of Haiti and is fairly removed from the chaos going on in Port au Prince. The majority of the work will be working with injured children although I'm sure if there are adults with injuries that traveled north to their community we would be asked to help them as well. Please email me at: mom2is@aol.com if you are interested. I am trying to find out flight information as we speak. I am planning to leave as soon as I can, but they will need nurses for weeks to come, so if you can't leave right away they will still need you. It is possible to fly directly into Cap Haitien.
Sarah Williams

2010-01-20T17:52:00.002-05:00

Update 01/20/10

Our plans to send a medical team this weekend are on hold. The facility we were going to use ended up letting another team already on the ground in Haiti use their facilities. We are trying to get our doctors and nurses on to already established medical teams going to Haiti.

Sarah's husband is currently in Florida trying to get to Haiti and pick up their son Isaac. My (Salem) parents are waiting to hear if their new daughter received her visa today. The situation in Haiti is getting worse every day. These kids need to get out of there as soon as possible. Please continue to pray for the children of Haiti.

We are currently looking at options for getting our medically fragile children out of Haiti. Many of these children had little chance of surviving in Haiti before the earthquake; now their chances are even slimmer. Not only are these children in need of medical care, the orphanages desperately need the resources and space in their orphanages for the thousands of newly orphaned children.

Please remember: if you are interested in applying to become a temporary host family to a child on a medical visa, please contact Kim at smithjklc@hotmail.com

We will keep everyone updated as things progress.

Surgeons

2010-01-17T15:33:00.002-05:00

We need surgeons that can do amputations!

Please ask your family and friends. Call your local hospitals. We need some surgeons who can go to Haiti ASAP.

Email Salem at sister_haiti@yahoo.com

Attention Medical Teams

2010-01-16T12:27:00.002-05:00

We have recently come into contact with an organization interested in helping us get some medical teams to Haiti. World Harvest Missions has a facility in Haiti. They are interested in putting together some medical mission trips.
They already do medical mission trips to Haiti throughout the year and have the facilities to accommodate teams. They can provide transportation, generators, clean water, security, etc. They have a plane leaving Florida sometime this week with medical personnel and medical supplies. They may have a couple of seats open for qualified medical personnel who would like to join the team. If you are interested in this please contact me. This is going to be a very difficult trip and things will be VERY primitive.
We are also planning to put together some teams in the coming months to rotate down. If you would like to join a team - we want to hear from you.
You must have your passport and immunizations, can pay your way to Haiti and understand how difficult these trips are going to be.
Please email (sis2kensia@yahoo.com) with the following information:
1. Your Full Name
2. Specialty/Background
3. Dates You're Available
We will be in touch as we start getting all of the details together. Thanks so much everyone.

Where to donate money:

2010-01-13T14:37:00.010-05:00

If you want to help Haiti please consider donating to one of these organizations who can help the victims of the devastating earthquake:

1.Real Hope for Haiti (donate paypal button is on the right side of the blog)
http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/

2. Heartline Ministries
http://heartlineministries.org/default.aspx

3. Love-A-Child
http://www.loveachild.com/

4. Partners in Health
http://www.pih.org/home.html

5. Children of the Promise Orphanage
http://www.childrenofthepromise.org/

Or you could donate to us at The Medical Advocacy Team (paypal donate button on the right). All funds will be used 100% for families and children that we work with who have children with special healthcare needs who have been affected by the earthquake. (We are waiting to hear from most of them- keep praying!)

(this list will be updated as we hear from more partners)

ALSO URGENT URGENT URGENT
We are trying to put together a medical team to go to Haiti soon. If you have a medical background and are interested in this please email Sarah at sisters3designs@aol.com or Salem at sis2kensia@yahoo.com ASAP!!

Heartbroken for Haiti

2010-01-13T13:35:00.003-05:00

Please join us in prayer for Haiti.

Specifically pray for the MAT children who have returned home. Pray for them and their families safety and well being. Pray for the MAT children who are still waiting to come. Please pray for the families of the children who are here in the USA. We likely won't hear from the families for days if not weeks.

Please pray for the missionaries and organizations that we work with. That they are safe. That they stay healthy and safe and find all the supplies that they need. That they are free from fear and have the knowledge to make fast decisions that could help save lives.

Thank you.

Varney

2010-01-06T18:14:00.009-05:00

Please meet Varney. Varney and his Mom are from Liberia. Varney has been suffering from hydrocephalus for a long time. His entire life we presume.

The size of his head has gotten so large that there are pressure sores on it. I can't even imagine the amount of pain that would feel like and how grouchy I would be with that much pressure on my brain. Sometimes my children are heavy when I carry them and I complain. "Whoa you sure are heavy!" But I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for Varney's Mom to carry him. Yet she carries him... and carries on with her life- never stopping and never giving up.

Varney and his Mom went many places in Liberia looking for help. They finally found a doctor to see them. This doctor has done some VP shunts in the past but after examining Varney- he felt that he was too far gone for surgery. This doctor also informed Varneys Mom that he doesn't even have the VP shunts were he willing to operate on Varney. He also admitted that sometimes the patients die- because he isn't really a neurosurgeon. He told Varneys Mom to bring him home- for soon- he would die.

Six months has passed since that time and Varneys Mom has cared for him with loving hands and a faithful heart. Varney continues to live and bless so many people with his presence. Soon with prayer and some fundraising we will be able to bring Varney and hopefully his Mom to the USA for lifesaving surgery. Supplies will be brought over for Varney and his Mom while they wait for all the paperwork to go through so that he will be able to be more comfortable and so that the sores on his head can be kept clean. If he gets an infection he could die very fast.

I know that these pictures are difficult to look at. They were hard for me at first to look at too. I can feel the pain in his eyes and the sorrow in his mothers eyes just from the pictures. Varney's head size is massive. Bigger than the worse case I have ever seen. And its imperative that we pray for him and his Mom.

New Children

2010-01-04T18:24:00.002-05:00

As you can see from the side bar we have many new referrals for children this week. Please keep them and their families in your prayers while they wait for life saving medical care. We have also been blessed with some new volunteers over the past few weeks and we plan to update the contact information for our volunteers on this blog soon.

We will be taking the time to write more about the new children who have come into our program. We feel that in order for people to understand the trials and tribulations each one of them has gone through their stories are important to tell.

We are looking for someone or a group of people that could help with fundraising. Perhaps this is a gift you have and you want to donate some of your time to this effort. We will need to be able to help some of the referring organizations with the costs of paperwork processing in country. Some of the organizations just aren't financially in a position where they are able to cover the added expenses of $400-$1000 for testing, labs, document recovery, passport, and visa processing. And of course our largest expense is helping with travel costs for the children to come to the US or for the children to travel to another location within their country or continent for medical care.

Our host family coordinator is busy updating our host family list so that we are ready when medical care has been arranged for the new children. If your interested in hosting a child- please contact Kim at: smithjklc@hotmail.com

Thanks for reading our blog, praying for "our children and families" and caring about your global neighbors.

Emmanuella in the news!

2010-01-02T12:31:00.003-05:00

Some information has been changed for privacy purposes...

Emmanuella Michel, 5, is so lively that it’s hard to picture how thin and fragile she was only two months ago. She is pictured with her aunt Checelie Michel and host brother Caleb D. Emmanuella came to the United States from Haiti for heart surgery in October and has been staying with Caleb and his parents Rick and Darla D. of Washington state. Because of this family, 5-year-old Emmanuella Michel of Haiti received a priceless holiday gift — a life-saving open heart surgery.
“It’s a Christmas miracle,” said her host mother Darla . “She’s just like a normal child now.”
During an interview just before Christmas, it was hard to imagine that the robust child bouncing around the newspaper office was gravely ill just a few weeks ago — until she lifted her shirt to show off a 6-inch scar down the middle of her chest.
Emmanuella now has a chance at a normal life because Rick, Darla and Caleb D. made it their mission to help Haitian children. The idea started when Caleb met a schoolmate who was born in Haiti.
“I met Joshua P. He was friends with Caleb at Whitney,” Darla D said. “I knew in my heart this was something I wanted to do.”
Not in a position to adopt, the D family, who attend The Bright Christian Fellowship, found another way to serve.
“Our family wanted to help children with medical needs,” D said.
Through the organizations Partners in Health in Haiti and The Medical Advocacy Team, a program of Remember International, INC. in the United States, they learned about the gravely ill Emmanuella. At 5, she was unable to walk and suffered terrible chest pain.
“They would just pray over her because she could not move. God sure answered those prayers, huh?” Darla said, getting a nod of agreement from Emmanuella’s aunt, Checelie Michel.
Emmanuella’s family saved up enough money to get her to a Partners in Health doctor, whose diagnosis was Tetralogy of Fallot. This is a combination of heart abnormalities, two of which are particularly dangerous: a hole between the ventricles and an obstruction of blood flow from the right ventricle to the lungs, according to the American Heart Association. Because blood can’t get to the lungs easily, it doesn’t pick up enough oxygen.
For Emmanuella, it meant she had no energy to grow and thrive — or even to walk. The D’s agreed to host her and Checelie while she underwent open-heart surgery. Medical and travel costs were covered by volunteer doctors, Partners in Health and The Medical Advocacy Team.
After she arrived at the end of October, the first order of business was to get Emmanuella seven immunizations that were required before surgery. The D's did this with the help of Rod Dalseg, Island Hospital’s director of diagnostic imaging. Darla said she was working at Calico Cupboard when a group from Island Hospital came in for a meeting. She asked if they knew of anybody who could give immunizations as charity, and Dalseg said he’d find out.
“He called me later and said ‘I have it handled.’ So that was a miracle,” Darla said.
Dr. Jeanne Olmsted at Fidalgo Medical Associates did the job. Emmanuella had heart surgery at Emmanuel Children’s Hospital in Portland two weeks later.
“She’s been a little trooper, and so has my husband Rick,” she said.
Many have chipped in to help Emmanuella and Checelie. People from The Bridge Christian Fellowship brought them clothes, and many have come into Calico Cupboard and offered money, clothes and food, she said. The owner of Papa Murphy’s gave them free pizzas.
“Pizza is their favorite food here,” Darla added.
Checelie is making headbands and selling them for $10 each to raise money to take back to Haiti. She said the money will help her and her fiancé build a house. Darla said anyone who wants to buy one can email for more information.
The D's family has appreciated being of service, and the experience has made them more appreciative of life in our country.
“You just think, you’re so grateful for what we have,” Darla said.

Emmanuella update

2009-11-23T12:42:00.004-05:00

Emmanuella is out of the hospital!

She is back home with her host family

and as you can see from the pictures

she is doing so well!

Rick and Darla her host parents have so many
wonderful stories of miracles that have
happened for Emmanuella and her Aunt
since they have been staying with them.

Everyone has been so blessed by this awesome
relationship and bridging of communities, cultures
and countries. What a beautiful testimony!
We are so thankful for all our volunteers!

Surgery updates

2009-11-12T15:45:00.002-05:00

Baby Bear is out of surgery. It went well and he will have full leg casts on for awhile. Please continue to pray for him to be able to manage his pain OK and also they are concerned because of his "big bubba thighs" that his casts might slip off. He did have a difficult time in the past with allergic reactions to the casting material so we appreciate your thoughts and prayers for Bear.

Emmanuella is still in surgery. Her bypass surgery will take another three hours. So far she is doing well- we will update once we hear more. It is a blessing that her Aunt is able to be here with her and her host Mom Darla is doing a fantastic job. Keep praying!

Updates

2009-11-12T09:10:00.002-05:00

Berlange "Baby Bear" is having surgery today on his bilateral club feet. Please keep him in your prayers.

Emmanuella is also having surgery today for her heart condition, please keep her in your prayers.

We will update you on both of these children as soon as we hear updates post surgery.

To the anonymous commenter regarding Mercy and her treatment:
We would LOVE to hear more from you! Please do email me (Sarah) at: sisters3designs@aol.com

Mercy is being seen at CURE already and will have an EEG there next week but we would love to have the name of the neurosurgeon friend of yours if possible. Please email me with more details!

Emmanuella and her host Mom

2009-10-31T15:58:00.001-04:00

Here is a picture of Emmanuella and her host Mom Darla.

Please keep her in your prayers as she isn't eating much.

Thank you.

Emmanuella

2009-10-30T18:08:00.002-04:00

Emmanuella is 5 years old and from Haiti. She arrived in the Pacific Northwest last night with her auntie. They are staying with a wonderful host family. Emmanuella is here for heart surgery. They were exhausted when they arrived and sweet Emmanuella doesn't have much energy because of her heart condition. The host Mom just called to update me and let me know that they are going for immunizations for Emmanuella right now. Please keep them all in your prayers as everyone is tired from so many "changes" and "new things". They are blessed with someone to translate over the phone as the host family doesn't know much creole. The Aunt has been cooking a lot and got to experience a US grocery store today for the very first time.

Pictures coming soon. :)

Mercy

2009-10-22T13:16:00.006-04:00

This beautiful little girl is Mercy. Mercy is four years old and from Uganda. Mercy needs our help desperately. Mercy has a rare seizure disorder that scared people in her country. She was found abandoned and wandering the streets. The people believed that Mercy might be possessed. Wonderful loving people took her in and have been caring for her but her seizures are getting worse. They were able to get a CT scan for her but there are no neurosurgeons in Uganda. The Medical Advocacy Team is working hard to get her the medical care she needs quickly.

Host family needed ASAP near DETROIT

2009-10-08T13:08:00.002-04:00

Another organization that we work with is in need of a host family ASAP near Detroit for a one year old baby girl who is going to have surgery for a VP shunt- please email me (Sarah) for more information at: sisters3designs@aol.com

A Need

2009-09-15T22:27:00.008-04:00

Hi everyone,

The MAT has recently been presented with two baby boy in Haiti that are in desperate need of help. Baby Caleb and Baby Loubens were both born in the same area of Haiti and were born with the same condition. They were both brought to COTP Orphanage and the orphanage is doing everything they can to help them. These boys need help they can't get in Haiti. Caleb and Loubens are living on borrowed time - they need surgery now.

We need to raise the money for these children's medical tests, paperwork, visas, and travel.

If you are interested in donating to this cause please visit the COTP Donation page. Please be sure to note that your donation is for Caleb and Loubens. You can also donate to MAT and we will forward the funds to the appropriate people. Just be sure to note that it is for Caleb and Loubens.

On behalf of these precious boys and their families - thank you!!!

Clepson's back HOME!

2009-09-15T10:21:00.003-04:00

Clepson flew back home this past weekend.

Here he is in Haiti with Carol from Love A Child.

Clepson's flight out of Seattle was canceled and he

wasn't able to get on another flight until the next day.

So it was a LONG three day adventure for him.

He had two hotel overnights on either side of the USA.

One in Seattle and one in Miami.

We think he looks like a rock star and so happy

to be home in Haiti with his "family" at LAC.

What a remarkable young man.

We will miss you Clepson.

We want to thank the Airline Ambassadors

for helping with THREE escorts to get Clepson

back to Haiti. Each of the stops on his journey

were delayed and changed and it was amazing

to see how organized they remained to

coordinate things as they happened with the flights.

What a blessing!

Clepson

2009-09-03T01:05:00.002-04:00

Here is Clepson with his brand new eye.

What a miracle.

Clepson is healing well and is going

to be leaving the USA to head home

to Haiti in about 10 days.

We will post more soon about the end

of his journey here. He has touched

MANY lives this summer.

We love you Clepson!

Host family needed in CALIFORNIA

2009-08-11T14:11:00.002-04:00

Needed: Loving host family

For whom: This little sweetie

Where: California- near L.A. if possible

When: Soon!

Please email Kim at: smithjklc@hotmail.com

for more information and an application

Emmanuella is coming for surgery!

2009-08-05T09:14:00.003-04:00

5 year old Emmanuella from Haiti will be coming to the US soon for heart surgery. A big thank you to the doctor and hospital in OR who have commited to her care! This is their second time donating surgery to a precious, Haitian child....thank you!!!

We still have several Haitian children with heart conditions that need surgery. Including, two babies with Downs Syndrome. It is VERY hard to find doctors and hospitals willing to provide pro-bono medical care to these precious little ones. If you know any surgeons or hospitals willing to help, please let us know. medicaladvocacyteam@live.com

Please Help

2009-08-05T08:53:00.002-04:00

As I'm sure everyone reading this knows - the Medical Advocacy Team LOVES Real Hope for Haiti. RHFH is an amazing organization working in Haiti. They run a medical clinic, rescue center for malnourished children, school sponsorships, food distribution, clean water, community development, etc. We love the family that runs RHFH and love supporting them in any way we can. Many of our referrals come from their medical clinic and it has always been such a joy and privilege to work with them. You can read their blogs HERE and HERE.

We will probably have a couple of upcoming posts about how you can help a child from RHFH. Right now, I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the Medika Mamba program. RHFH has started using this for their severly malnourished children, and it is a miracle product! Medika Mamba means "medical peanut butter" in Kreyol. It is a highly fortified peanut butter product, made in Haiti. And it is saving lives. You won't believe the difference it can make in a child in a few short weeks. Go HERE and HERE to see the proof in pictures.

Our friend and missionary, Tara Livesay is running a marathon to raise money for the starving children of Haiti. The funds will go to buy Medika Mamba for these precious children. They are raising $26,000 and are 87% of the way there! Please, if you get a chance, consider donating to this wonderful cause. You can donate on the upper left hand corner of the Livesay blog. This stuff is truly saving lives.

Host Family Needed

2009-07-19T09:40:00.002-04:00

We are in need of a temporary host family in the Portland area for a 5 year old little girl coming to the US for cardiac surgery. She will probably be arriving with her mother. If you are interested in this situation please email us at medicaladvocacyteam@live.com and we will send you a host family application.

THANKS!

MAT in the News

2009-07-03T15:37:00.001-04:00

Click HERE for a great story that the Bellingham Herald did on MAT and Clepson who is here in the US for surgery.

2009-06-26T15:07:00.005-04:00

Some small updates:

We know of an organization that is currently looking for a host family in the Houston, TX area. If you have a lead on a host family in that area please contact us and we will put you in touch with the proper people. medicaladvocacyteam@live.com

We still have cleft bottles. If you are going to Haiti (or another developing country) soon and would be willing to carry over some bottles, please let me know.

We are currently looking for an orthopaedic surgeon willing to consider the case of a young Haitian girl with a diagnosis of distal arthrogryposis, pterygium syndrome, bilateral club feet.

Please pray for this sweet baby boy. He is currently in a Haitian hospital. Our friends at RHFH are working to determine if there is a doctor in Haiti who can treat him. He needs our prayers.

Surgery for Clepson

2009-06-26T14:45:00.001-04:00

Clepson just had surgery on his eye. Please pray for a quick recovery. You can follow his journey here: http://realtorreal.blogspot.com/

Clepson

2009-06-07T12:33:00.003-04:00

After a long time in the making-

plans for Clepson's charity care have come to fruition!

Today he arrives to his host family.

He will likely be in the US for the summer.

He will have eye surgery and we will arrange

for a prosthetic eye for him.

This surgery will be life changing for Clepson

who has been in terrible pain for a long time now.

If you want to read more about the

organization who runs the orphanage

that Clepson lives at, please visit:

www.loveachild.org

Some Updated Pictures

2009-05-31T18:01:00.003-04:00

We received updated pictures on some of our MAT kids that have gone back home to their families after having surgery in the US. I have more, but I'll share them with you a couple at a time. :)

Gorgeous Fedna

Sweet Schnider.

Handsome Roobens

Adorable Helande

2009-04-28T13:32:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lack of updates on the MAT blog. Things have been very slow for the MAT right now. It seems that many hospitals and doctors are reducing or discontinuing their charity care programs because of the economy. This makes it even harder for us find medical care for our waiting children.

We now have six Haitian children in need of cardiac surgery. There is a doctor interested in helping one of the children but we don't have a commitment yet. If you know of any cardiothoracic surgeons that might be interested in helping one of these children - please let us know.

-----------------

Very soon, we will be looking for some more volunteers. We are in need of volunteers that will be willing to contact hospitals and doctors in their area trying to secure charity medical care for children. We will write more about this soon, but in the mean time - if you are interested in possibly volunteering a little of your time with us, please contact us and let us know. medicaladvocacyteam@live.com

------------------

We still have cleft bottles to be distributed. If you are traveling to Haiti (or any other developing country that can use them) and will be visiting a hospital, clinic or orphanage that sees cleft affected children please let us know and we can ship you some bottles to hand carry over. We have currently sent cleft bottles to Haiti, Thailand and India.

------------------

If you haven't already seen it, you can go HERE to see pictures of the kids we have helped so far. We hope we can add many more pictures to this page in the years to come!

------------------

Some kid updates:

Saintana came to the RHFH clinic for a check-up. She has re-adjusted to her family and is doing well. Saintana had surgery in the United States early this year and returned home to Haiti in March. What a cutie!

Schnider came to for a check up this month as well. He is growing up so big and doing very well at home with his family.

Baby Bear (Berlange) is doing well in WA with Sarah and her family. He is getting sooooo chubby and is so adorable. You can follow his journey and health updates on Sarah's blog HERE.

--------------------

We are currently in need of:

Cardiothoracic Surgeons
Orthopaedic Surgeons
Dermatologist and possibly an Oncologist

Contact us: medicaladvocacyteam@live.com

Eloise is going home.

2009-03-26T16:28:00.002-04:00

Eloise's medical care is complete and she will be headed back to Haiti on Friday. She has recovered well and has been such a blessing to her host family. Some exciting news - since Eloise is an orphan, her host family is going to try to adopt her! They have a special meeting while they are in Haiti and I pray that Haiti will give them permission to pursue her adoption. It will be great if she can go back to the family she has already bonded to and grown to love.

Fedna Pictures

2009-03-26T16:24:00.002-04:00

Here is a picture of Fedna with her family back in Haiti.

Fedna's back before surgery.

Fedna's back after surgery.

Please continue to pray for her as she re-adjusts to her family. And please pray for her host family, the Ivey's here in the States. They love and miss her so much. Hosting a child on a medical visa has many wonderful rewards, but it is so hard to say goodbye to a child you have loved and cared for.

Fedna is home!

2009-03-16T17:03:00.001-04:00

Little Fedna returned home to Haiti this week. Hopefully we will have pictures of the reunion soon!

Saintana is home.

2009-03-08T19:09:00.003-04:00

Some pictures, as promised.

Updates

2009-03-02T19:10:00.005-05:00

Saintana is on her way home! She and her host momma are on their way to Haiti so that this sweet girl can be reunited with her family. Hopefully we'll have pictures of the reunion soon.

Little Fedna will be headed home soon. She had spina bifida surgery in TX. She is doing great and the doctors have give the all clear for her to return to Haiti.

Eloise is out of the hospital and back home with her host family. Thank you for all your prayers during those scary couple of days when she was so sick.

We currently have several children we are looking for medical care for. I will work on getting their pictures and information up on the sidebar. We are desperately in need of some pediatric cardiothroacic surgeons that would be willing to consider donating their time to help some children in Haiti. If you know of anyone that might be interested in helping, please let us know. medicaladvocacyteam@live.com

A little Bear update

2009-02-21T14:21:00.003-05:00

We wanted to give a little update on Bear. He is out of the hospital and home.

He is having a hard time with his formula (as he has for awhile now). Bear will see the nutritionist this week to determine if perhaps he needs a non-soy, non-milk protein, amino acid formula- or if if there is something else that we can do for him. He definitely has "colic", poor guy. Bear will also have a neurosurgery followup and visit the developmental doctor this week.

Bear is gaining weight really well. That has been the biggest blessing with all the dietary issues. Bear will have appointments with the urologist and then the orthopedic surgeon in the upcoming weeks. He is looking at many months of additional medical care but is WELL on his way to recovery. We can hardly believe he is 12 weeks old already!

Thanks so much to all our friends in Texas, especially Dr. A., her staff, and the medical team in Austin. You were all wonderful and we wouldn't have been able to help Bear without all your love and support! We will do our best to give monthly updates on Bear and his progress.

He has quite a fan club for a three month old.

Eloise Update 02/19/09

2009-02-19T09:20:00.001-05:00

Eliose is doing much better.
She was weaned off the vent yesterday.
She is still sedated but is making progress every day.

Thank you for praying for her during this difficult time.

Eloise Update 02/15/09

2009-02-15T15:55:00.001-05:00

She remains in critical condition, apparently her liver has been compromised due to her surgery. They are waiting for it to respond and heal, it has not yet.

Please continue to pray for her.

Eloise Update

2009-02-12T21:09:00.003-05:00

We got this update for Eloise's host family this evening:

Eliose is critical yet stable. This morning she was unstable, apparently her heart is having a hard time adjusting. she is on a ventilator,and sedated so that she cannot move. they say the next 24 hrs will tell the story, her fever has come down to 101 from 104.

Please continue to pray for her.

Pray for Eloise

2009-02-12T09:25:00.003-05:00

Please be praying for Eloise. She had cardiac surgery yesterday and we got word this morning that she is having some complication. Please pray she recovers quickly and without further complication. We'll keep everyone updated.

Britnie and Fedlene are Home

2009-01-30T17:10:00.003-05:00

Britnie and Fedlene are both back home in Haiti with their families!

They weren't in the United States long, but they touched a lot of hearts while they were here. We are so thrilled to be able to return two beautiful healthy girls to their families.

An enormous thank you to their host family here in the United States, and the doctor and hospital that donated their care. You have changed the lives of these precious girls and we can't thank you enough!!

Britnie and Fedlene By: Host Mom Tanya

2009-01-27T11:18:00.000-05:00

Our family has had the great honor of hosting Britnie and Fedlene while they have been here in the US receiving their medical care. They arrived the end of November, right before Thanksgiving, and will be heading back to Haiti next week. They received their surgery after being here only two weeks, and the last of the stitches came out last week, just in time to go home!

Our journey with the girls began when I saw their photos on the MAT blog, and saw that the doctor that had volunteered his care was in our state... I thought the chances were slim that the doctor was actually close to us, but I inquired about hosting the girls, and sure enough, their doctor was only 15 minutes away from us. It seemed like a sign from God that we were supposed to be the ones to care for them while they were here. Unfortunately at that time, we were trying to finish up the adoption of our Haitian son, and didn't feel comfortable working on 3 visas (one for our son, and the medical ones for the girls) at the same time, so we had to pass on hosting them, and my heart was so heavy.

At that time, another family who was adopting from Haiti signed up to host the girls, and they also live near us so I was excited to be able to at least visit the girls while they were here in the US.... well, things such as this rarely go as planned.... time moved on, and the girls still were not ready to come to the US (paperwork wise). In the mean time another family signed up to host the girls, because the first family would be bringing their boys home from Haiti very soon.

Long story shorter... time once again went on, and that family had other things come up that would make them unable to host. We were given the opportunity to get our paperwork together so that we could be the host family.

We were so incredibly excited. We picked up two brave, beautiful little girls from the airport, and within the week started going to appointments to prep them for their surgery. The doctor who provided his care, and his office staff who did all of the scheduling were so sweet, and had everything under control. We just needed to show up when we were told.

The surgeries went off without a hitch, and we were in the hospital about 4 days.... the rest of our time together has been recovering, taking antibiotics to avoid infections, and getting to know these darling little girls. They and their parents have definitely been a living testament to us about what REAL faith, and trust are. Their parents had to trust complete strangers (us!), they had to trust a doctor who they had never met or spoken to, they had to trust that it would be safe to put their daughters on an airplane, and trust that everything would be ok.

The parents were able to receive updates via Real Hope for Haiti, and they were also able to print off pictures to give to the parents as well. While I am sure that has helped ease a little of the worry, I can only imagine how much they miss their girls..... In only 6 days they will be reunited. Our family will be so sad to say goodbye, but we only have to think about how joyful the reunion with their families will be.

We ask that you pray for the girls and their families as they get reacquainted with each other. That their transition from the cold North Carolina winter weather, back to the heat of Haiti won't be too rough on their little bodies, and pray that God will continue to watch over them and their families. We will be praying for safety as they travel as well.

Our hosting experience has been awesome. Since we had just brought our son home from Haiti in July, all of the "parenting" Creole was fresh in our minds.... we have been able to communicate with the girls from the beginning. There have been many times when the girls were telling a story and I could only pick up on bits and pieces of what was being said, but as long as I was being attentive, and smiling and nodding- they didn't seem to care if I really understood or not. The girls have fit right in with our 6 children, and I have taken comfort in knowing that these well rounded little girls come from and will be returning to their loving families. They are smart, funny, silly, cuddly, playful, brave, beautiful little girls, who I know are going to grow up to do big things.

We want to thank the MAT Team here in the US and those other hard workers (Lori from RHFH- and her family) who did all of the initial paperwork and running around. What they do is not considered glamorous on many accounts, but I think it is some of the most precious, "noteworthy" work. I feel like we had the easy job of hosting and caring for the girls, and they did all of the hard stuff!

Eloise is here.

2009-01-26T13:13:00.002-05:00

Eloise was referred to us from GLA in Haiti. She arrived in the United States recently to receive cardiac surgery!

Her host family reports that she is settling in well and will have her first doctors appointment soon. We will keep you updated on when she will received surgery. Isn't she a cutie?

Saintana Update

2009-01-21T12:47:00.002-05:00

Sweet little Saintana continues to do very well. Her first surgery was a success and she has recovered well under the loving care of her host family. Saintana saw her surgeon Monday and has gained 2 lbs since arriving! She's doing great and her next surgery is scheduled for February 6. The surgeon will close her colostomy and hopefully all her digestive tract will work perfectly.

Thank you for your continued love and prayer for this darling girl. You can follow her host families blog HERE.

First Post-Op Pictures of Baby Bear

2009-01-21T12:43:00.004-05:00

Here are some post-op pictures of Baby Bear.

Please pray that the brain CSF is NEG and he can have shunt surgery soon. Otherwise we may be talking several extra weeks in the hospital. We will continue to keep everyone updated. Thank you for loving and praying for this sweet boy!

Bear update post first surgery

2009-01-20T06:53:00.003-05:00

Bear had his first surgery yesterday. They repaired his myelomeningocele (closed his back) and also tapped his ventricles to take a sample of the CSF fluid in his brain. This was sent off for culture to see if its going to grow anything. We are heavily praying that it doesn't grow anything. Bear has a tummy infection and a urine infection already so we are just hoping that the antibiotics do their job and he can be well on his way to healing!
As long as his recovery goes well over the next 48 hours- he will be having surgery again on Thursday for a VP shunt for his hydrocephalus and also repair of the hernia in his groin. For the next three days he is on his tummy and as of right now we are in the ICU.
Surgery yesterday went very well but because of having to get several blood transfusions- we are in the ICU where he can be monitored more closely.
Thank you all for your continued prayers for Baby Bear. He is a very sweet baby and is eating so well- despite being on his belly- it is truly amazing.
We will try to update the blog later today with pictures of his back.

Howdy Ya'll

2009-01-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

Guess who is in Texas?

Baby Bear!

It has been a long journey and a REALLY long 24 hours.

But HE has arrived and is doing well.

We are heading over to the hospital now for admitting time.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Much, much more to come.

B.B.

(Baby Bear)

Bear update

2009-01-13T14:44:00.002-05:00

No passport for Bear today as we had hoped.

Please pray for all of our hearts to remain steadfast and strong.
Please pray for the passport people to get it done TOMORROW.
Please pray for us to all forge ahead with plans and not let anything stand in our way.
Please pray for Bears personal round the clock caretaker (shown above).

And pray for the people at RHFH- they are more busy this week than their normal BUSY life. They are swamped truthfully. They had hoped like the rest of us that Bear was in TX- two

weeks ago- and seeing him wait and suffer has to be a great burden to bear.

This is it. This is just in the nick of time.
It HAS to happen tomorrow.
(Then he will get his Visa on Thursday and travel on Friday.)

Please pray and please pass this on to everyone you know to have them pray.

Bear continues to eat well, gain weight, and is doing OK.
His bump is still changing and thinning in some parts.
He has been fever free.
His head circumference is getting larger...
He is a strong baby and fighting so hard.

Psalm 107:1-4 (The Message)1-3

Oh, thank God—he’s so good!
His love never runs out.
All of you set free by God, tell the world!
Tell how he freed you from oppression,
Then rounded you up from all over the place,
from the four winds, from the seven seas.

4-9 Some of you wandered for years in the desert,
looking but not finding a good place to live,
Half-starved and parched with thirst,
staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.
Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God.
He got you out in the nick of time;
He put your feet on a wonderful road
that took you straight to a good place to live.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
He poured great draughts of water down parched throats;
the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.

Lots of updates!

2009-01-08T12:49:00.005-05:00

Baby Bear's passport is in the works. The application was able to be made yesterday and it is being processed. The best case scenario is that they will be able to have the

completed passport tomorrow- but there is always a chance it can take longer.

Bear is hanging in there and doing OK. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Sweet Fedna had a full day of traveling yesterday. Thanks so much to Jessica and Jamie (escort and host mom) for helping to bring Fedna to her final destination- TEXAS. And thank all of you for helping with the cost of her plane ticket. What a tremendous blessing it was to be able to have Fedna travel so quickly! Today she is going to see the wonderful Doctor and also to receive some pre-operative testing. On Monday she will have her surgery. What a blessing!

Adorable Saintana was released from the hospital yesterday and is now back at home with her host family. She will need another surgery in February and then recovery time and if all goes well- she will be headed home shortly after that! You can read more about her journey here:

Saintana's Host Families Blog

Fedna

2009-01-07T13:59:00.004-05:00

Fedna's travels and journey have officially begun.

Please keep her, her family, medical team and host family in your prayers.

We are so excited for Fedna to receive the surgery she needs.

For updates and to follow her journey, please visit her host families blog at:

http://dreamingbigdreams.wordpress.com/

Bear Update

2009-01-05T22:05:00.003-05:00

"I want my passport so I can get my visa!!"

No passport today.

Bear's Birth Certificate needed to be fixed and archived- it was actually the cause of the gender on the passport being wrong- as it also said he was a "she". We are hopeful that they will have it done tomorrow and then they will work on getting the passport error fixed.

The good news is that Bear is doing OK. He is fever free, seems comfortable and he is eating well.

His "bump" continues to heal and appears to change some in different spots daily.

This speaks volumes to his strength and the TLC he is receiving.

It is a miracle he is thriving so long. Praise!

So please continue to pray for his health and well being. The wisdom of his caregivers and of course the passport, birth certificate and visa. One more thing that we request prayer for:

The waiting is very hard on not only Bear and everyone involved in planning but for his parents as well. His family lives 10 hours walk away from where Bear is staying and receiving medical care. His Dad has to be present at the visa appointment and will have to walk back for that to happen. Please pray for his parents- for their wisdom and the Lord's guidance in their lives. This is a difficult and trying time for them and may they also feel the blessing of our prayers.

Thank you.

Tomorrow

2009-01-04T12:32:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we are hoping and praying that Bear's passport is able to get fixed so that he can go in for his Visa on Tuesday. Can you please pray with us? It would be wonderful if it was fixed tomorrow and then they gave him the actual Visa on Tuesday instead of making him wait. There is a chance that everyone might not be in the passport office who is needed there to fix the passport tomorrow. (They are coming back after vacation and maybe won't all be in until later in the week.)

So truly we need a miracle... and that is going to take a lot of prayer!

Also- Bear's myelomeningocele is getting really thin. Although the three places that were leaking before are healing- there is fear and concern that it could open up completely. Please keep praying for his health and the wisdom of his caregivers. Thank you.

We are still waiting on an update about Saintana and we will post one as soon as we have them.

We have three children who will be returning to their families in a few weeks, what an amazing blessing each of their journey's have been. We will be posting more soon.

And... the great news is that Fedna will be coming to Texas FOR SURE this week. We have coordinated several wonderful volunteers schedules and it is all going to work out beautifully.

Saintana's 1st Surgery

2009-01-02T11:25:00.002-05:00

"Tana" has her first surgery today. (She will have two while she is here in the USA.) Please keep her and her families in your prayers. (Her host family as well as her family waiting ever so patiently in Haiti for their baby to heal and return to them.) The surgery is going to last 6-7 hours and Tana might need to go to the PICU tonight and then spend several more days in the hospital recuperating. When we have an update we will definitely update the blog and let you all know how she is doing.

Sad :(

2008-12-31T11:45:00.002-05:00

Baby Bear didn't get his visa this morning. There was a mistake on his passport and the Embassy wouldn't even look at his paperwork. We've heard that the passport office is closed until January 8th so its going to be at least another week before we get this figured out. PLEASE pray that Bear stays strong and can hang on a little bit longer.

The good news is that Fedna did get her visa and is ready to go as soon as we get down there.

We'll keep the blog updated on their new travel plans. Thank you for your support and love for these precious children!

PRAY!

2008-12-29T14:15:00.002-05:00

Please continue to pray for Baby Bear, Fedna, their families and their caregivers. As well as the hard workers who are bringing together all the paperwork on the Haiti side.

Please also PRAY specifically that the passports for both children are issued first thing tomorrow morning. They were supposed to be ready this morning and they were not- and now the passport office is closed for the day. We must have the passports first thing tomorrow morning in order for them to have a Visa appointment in time to be escorted out of Haiti this week. (All offices are closed on Thursday and Friday because of the Holiday.)

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support.

THANK YOU!

2008-12-28T17:51:00.002-05:00

Thank you to everyone who has donated towards Bear and Fedna's travel. We have more than met our goal and have raised a little over $1,700!

We have plans for Bear to arrive this coming week. We're still working out Fedna's travel plans but it will be soon as well. We are so very excited for these two to get the surgery they need. Please continue to pray for them. We will keep everyone updated.

Update and a CHALLENGE!

2008-12-27T12:06:00.002-05:00

Prayers...
Please keep praying for Baby Bear. He is holding strong for now but his back is definitely leaking spinal fluid. Bear has run a fever on and off. He is receiving medication daily to help keep an infection away but is definitely on borrowed time and we need everyone to keep praying for him. The passports for both children are possibly going to be ready Monday and if so- then they might be able to have Visa appointments and leave Haiti next week. If not, it could be the following week- please pray for the passport and visa NEXT week. Please also pray for his caregivers as they work to make the best possible decisions and to give Bear the best possible care.

Fedna continues to do great- praise!!

Wow! Wow! Wow!
Because of your generosity and kindness- we have already raised an amazing $975 towards travel expenses for Bear and Fedna. We are getting really close to our goal of $1500 (for two plane tickets from Haiti to Texas).

And a challenge:
We have had an anonymous donor offer to match dollar for dollar your donations up to $250! (Thank you anonymous donor!) If we can just spread the word and even let people know about how far your $5- $10 will go (it becomes $10-$20 instantly)- what a blessing that would be. If we can match up to the $250- then we have the $500 and we will have basically met our goal!

Just use the paypal button on the right- no amount is too small- every $1 is a blessing!

We will post an update on Baby Bear and the Challenge as soon as we have news.
Thanks again for all of your support and kindness.

The Medical Advocacy Team

Can you help?

2008-12-23T11:28:00.005-05:00

Typically we have time on our side.

We have time to plan ahead and secure a donated ticket for a child to travel, or time to raise funds to cover the costs of the travel and escort for a child...

However, this time- for these two children- time just isn't on our side.

This is a really tough time of year, and really bad year to be asking for more money. We saw miracles truly happen when we put the word out needing some help for covering the cost of the paperwork and passports for these two beautiful children. And now we are coming and asking for your help again.

We are hoping to be able to have both Bear and Fedna travel from Haiti sometime in the next 10 days. They truly need to leave as soon as they have their Visas. For Bear- you can see the changes in his myelomeningocele (spina bifida). Although he is gaining weight and is stable- he is in a lot of pain. When we first learned about Bear, he was able to move his legs and unfortunately, now he is not able to. (The Spina Bifida does cause paralysis and the longer he waits, the more damage that will be done to his little body.)

He is a fighter though and we are amazed at how he has already come so far- we just want him to have a chance at life. Bear is now 6lbs and 10 oz. The redness around his "bump" is from the "dressing" that covers his bump and keeps it clean. He has been sick to his stomach lately and having his bowels so close to his opening in his back is critically dangerous for his life. So his loving caregivers have to tape a dressing on him to keep the stool away from the "bump". The bump is actually an opening that is in his spine-and if stool gets on his bump- that would travel and infect his spine and brain and could take his life very fast. So his skin is breaking down (red and raw) and very painful from the tape on his fragile little body- but truly its saving his life at this moment.

We want to be really honest with you all who are praying for him that you understand the urgent need to get him here as soon as possible. We realize how upsetting and difficult this email is to read and how hard these pictures are to look at.

Because we are arranging for a special "medical" transport for both children, it would be best if they could come together since they need similar care and are going to the same awesome hospital with the same amazing doctor. If we can only raise money for one of the children, Bear will likely come first since he is more critical, but we would feel terrible leaving Fedna behind, who has waited nearly three years for surgery.

If each person who reads this blog daily were able to give $20 we would have enough funds to cover the cost of travel for both children TODAY. Or if each person would pass along this need to five of their friends and each of you gave $5, we would have enough TODAY to cover the cost of travel for BOTH children.

Please just use the paypal button on the right (for secure credit card or cash donations).... or email us and let us know you are going to mail a donation: medicaladvocacyteam@live.com

Thank you for your consideration and most of all thank you for your continued prayers for both children, their caregivers, and families.

Remembering Nallie...

2008-12-20T00:32:00.004-05:00

Sometimes things are really hard with doing work with the Medical Advocacy Team. Important documents don't get delivered on time because of inclement weather... and paperwork doesn't get processed as fast as we hope because the Holiday's are next week... or people are on vacation from work... or perhaps emails go lost, unanswered, overlooked... and at times children wait far too long because just the sheer coordinating appropriate medical care for them from gazillions of miles away becomes overwhelming...

One of the hardest parts is that the people we work to help are people who are moving mountains in other countries, these folks are always over worked, unpaid or seriously under paid, sometimes under appreciated, almost always relied upon by MANY others and just plain BUSY people. For them to go one step further and help a child with disabilities that are far out of the scope of their resources- and sometimes their experience- is amazing. It's like carrying a ton of bricks and burdens and then asking for more to be put upon the pile already on their backs.

When things are tough...

we know we need to just keep forging ahead, living hope filled seconds where we spend a lot of time in prayer. What we are called to do for each child that crosses our path- is the best possible loving care that we can give them- the most commitment from the time we have- our very personal BEST- this doesn't mean that it always goes the way that it should/could or how we hoped it would. The visions in our minds often times remain naive and wishful for each and every child's happy ending.

Some of you might remember adorable Ruth-Nallie above, the tiny Haitian Princess. She passed away a few weeks ago, but while she was here on earth, she touched MANY lives. I was able to meet Ruth Nallie during a trip to Haiti and she was perhaps- the smallest and more adorable baby I had ever seen. When we first started to try to help "Nallie" and we posted her picture here on this blog, we created quite a following and people emailed to ask about her frequently.

Nallie was just that kind of sweet spirit whose life was a miracle. She did make it to the US and went through weeks upon weeks of hospital care... and was able to be with her family, and she continued to feel ongoing, supportive love as she had received for most of her life.

Sometimes it isn't the amount of time that a child has here that matters the most- its the quality of time they had while they were here. Its the level of love that they are shown, its the teamwork and commitment that everyone involved gives to that child and it screams to the world that this child was so worth it all... and perhaps- its the gift that we all recieve by being a part of their lives... however short sometimes they may be.

Blessings,
Sarah
MAT Co-Director

Thank you and hosting information

2008-12-16T11:56:00.004-05:00

Thank you all so much for your donations to help with "Bear" and Fedna's paperwork. The entire $1000 needed was raised in just a few short days. Both of these children are greatly blessed by your generosity!

We have also had an amazing response for host families for both children. A host family for Fedna has already been arranged, and we are asking those people who have contacted us, or are still wanting to help host Bear (read the criteria below) and then if you "fit"-please contact our host family coordinator and fill out applications:

Kim our host family coordinator can be reached at:

smithjklc@hotmail.com

We are always looking for host families and respite care providers. Right now, our current need is for a host family and respite care helpers in the immediate Austin area.

If you live outside of the Austin area- please note that we CAN NOT and WILL NOT change the medical care that has been arranged for any child to accomidate your location. Please don't email and ask us this as much as you want to help. Instead- consider filling out an application for when a child might be coming to the area in which you live. :)

We need host parents who are:

1. Flexible (we typically don't know when children are going to arrive until the time is really close, and we don't often know how long they will be in the hospital, we also have times when children's needs change, or thier health situation deteriorates and requires extra trips to the doctor, or time in the hospital)

2. Ability to stay in the hospital with the host child- this is a REQUIREMENT- not an OPTION

3. For serious medically intensive cases we appreciate folks who have experience in the medical field or working with children who have special medical needs

4. Willing and able to love a child like thier own, and then let them go knowing that it will be very emotionally difficult and that updates on the child might be infrequent at best.

5. Host families need to have a strong, consistent local support system.

If you can't meet theses needs, please only apply to be a respite care provider or consider helping us in another way. We also often need people local to the host family to help provide donations of items for the child, formula, diapers, cost of medicine etc. or ongoing donations for their biological families so that they are set up in the best possible situation for when the child goes home.

There are sometimes children who come who don't need host parents to have medical training ahead of time- but they have to be willing to learn. :)

Thanks so much for your time, understanding and consideration. We appreciate all of you and the amazing folks we have gotten to "meet" in the past few days of searching and planning.

Baby Bear remains in stable condition yet he has been running fevers on and off as well as having other medical concerns despite being on strong antibiotics already. Please PRAY, its essential, his life is very fragile and his caretakers are doing all that they can under not the best of circumstances. Please pray for them as well- they truly need it and need to feel all our love and support.

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!

The Medical Advocacy Team

P.S. For safety and privacy reasons we are not at liberty to disclose the hospital any children are going to, or the doctor's who are treating them. Thanks for your understanding.

Urgent - Help for Berlange and Fedna

2008-12-10T21:16:00.008-05:00

Dear friends,

We need your help. Berlange and Fedna were referred to us by our friends at RHFH. These precious children were born with Spina Bifida and they both need to come to the United States for surgery.

Fedna is a bit older and has done remarkably well so far- Berlange on the other hand is very tiny and very fragile. He truly needs to come for surgery as soon as possible. He may not survive very long if he doesn't get surgery soon. We have a wonderful hospital and doctor in Texas that is willing to provide medical care for both of these darling children. It takes about $500 per child to get the necessary paperwork together in Haiti that will allow them to come here on a medical visa. That is $1,000 that RHFH just doesn't have right now.

Will you consider helping with this need? If you feel led to donate you can click on the link below - it will direct you to Lori's blog where you can click the DONATE button. She will be processing the paperwork. Just put a note on there that it is for Berlange and Fedna.

PLEASE - spread the word about this need. Post it on your blogs, email your friends, and share with your family. Thank you for all your support as we help these children. PLEASE ALSO SPECIFY THAT THE DONATION IS FOR THE MEDICAL VISA'S FOR THE TWO CHILDREN WITH SPINA BIFIDA!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

T-Shirts on Sale!

2008-12-06T20:26:00.005-05:00

Update: The adult large is gone. We currently only have adult mediums and smalls.

We have some MAT t-shirts left! We will be putting these on sale in hopes of getting them all sold. (Please note that there is a typo in the above graphic - everything on the shirt is spelled correctly.)

The shirts are awesome - I love mine and get lots of compliments on it. It is definitely a great conversation starter. :)

The shirts are brown with white writing. They say in Haitian Kreyol "Men Anpil Chay Pa Lou" and under that it translates the phrase into English "Many Hands Make the Load Lighter".

We don't have a lot of each size left but right now we have:

Adult Shirts - $17/shirt - This price includes shipping to anywhere in the continental U.S.!

1 size Large
4 size Medium
4 size Small

(Please indicate what size you would like in the checkout)

Kids Shirts - $12/shirt - This price includes shipping to anywhere in the continental U.S.!

2 size Large (14-16)
3 size Medium (10-12)
3 size Small (6-8)
4 size XSmall (2-4)

(Please indicate what size you would like in the checkout)

I'll try to keep this page updated with what we have left. THANK YOU for your help and support!!!

NOTE:

I can't get the Buy Now buttons to work on this post. For now - if you would like to buy a t-shirt just go to the donate button and donate the correct amound. Send us your address and what you purchased - we will get the shirts mailed out asap. You can email us at medicaladvocacyteam@live.com - Thanks so much!!!

Prayer for Britnie and Fedlene

2008-12-05T09:54:00.003-05:00

Britnie is in surgery right now and Fedlene will be going in for surgery tomorrow. Please pray for these sweet girls, their Haitian families and their host family. Their host family is going to be exhausted by the end of this weekend and I can't imagine how difficult it must be for their momma's to not be here with them right now. We're praying both girls recover very quickly and everything is as pain-free as possible.

If you would like to follow their journey you can visit their blog HERE.

We need.... your help...

2008-12-03T11:28:00.003-05:00

We need:

1. People traveling to Haiti in the next few weeks to carry down some donated medication. (Antibiotics Erthyromycin or EES or Emycin) Please email Sarah at: sisters3designs@aol.com if you are traveling soon! We will have the meds mailed to you and then arrange for pick up in PAP.

2. This newborn is named Berlange. Please keep him and his caregivers and family in your prayers. Berlange is from Haiti and is a week old. There is a chance that he may be able to get surgery in Haiti for his Spina Bifida. As you may know from the past children we have helped with SB, it can be very touch and go. Please pray that he is able to get the help he needs and that he stays strong and healthy, growing each day while he waits.

2008-11-26T10:24:00.004-05:00

Sweet Therry has been cleared by his doctors to return to Haiti! Therry had complex surgery to repair a heart condition but he has healed quickly and is doing very well. He and his mother will be going home soon.

Thank you to everyone that participated in caring and praying for Therry. What an amazing gift this family has received!

Two more kids are here!

2008-11-24T15:53:00.004-05:00

Britnie and Fedlene have arrived!
Their host family is keeping a blog about their journey HERE.

Please pray for them as they adjust to their new surroundings, miss their parents and prepare for surgery.

2008-11-18T17:00:00.004-05:00

Jon was able to receive a gtube placement in Haiti. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him and worked to help find him medical care. We are excited to see this little boy finally start to grow and thrive.

2008-11-18T16:51:00.003-05:00

We received news today that little Wend in Burkina Faso has been accepted by a hospital in Philadelphia!

We will be looking for a host family for this sweet girl. If you live in or near Philadelphia and are interested in possibly caring for her while she is here please contact our host family coordinator Kim at smithjklc@hotmail.com

Sad News

2008-11-13T19:17:00.002-05:00

We are so sad to inform you that sweet Edison passed away earlier this week. We were very close to bringing him over for the surgery that he needed. There was a great deal of people working very quickly on things for him, please do keep them all in your prayers- including the doctor and hospital that had donated their time and resources for him. (As well as his family, host family and very loving caretakers in Haiti are all in need of our thoughts and prayers during this time.

A Couple of Things

2008-11-09T22:22:00.002-05:00

- We are STILL looking for help for little Samuel from Ghana. Samuel appears to have severe scoliosis and has hydrocephalus. If you know of any orthopaedic surgeons and/or neurosurgeons who might be interested in looking at his information please let us know. Samuel's situation is very serious - he needs help as soon as possible.

- Evensly is a little boy in Haiti that needs to come to the U.S. and complete medical care for a Wilms Tumor. If you know of any oncologists that are might be willing to consider his information let us know and we can pass on his file.

On a good note:

- Sherlda is doing very well and is out of the hospital and back in her host families home. Yay for Sherlda!

- Britnie and Fedlene have plane tickets and will be coming very, very soon! It has taken a LONG time to get their stuff together (even after we had the hospital and doctor charity care letters) but they are finally coming for the medical care that they need. These kids have been waiting a long time for this! Their host mom has started a blog where you can follow their journey: http://twohaitianprincesses.blogspot.com/

More updates soon...

Wonderful News

2008-11-01T23:57:00.003-04:00

We wanted to share the wonderful news that Sherlda (aka Shelda) is recovering from heart surgery in Boston. She and her mother arrived a few weeks ago and have been taken care of by a great host family and the staff at PIH. Sherlda is doing very well and should be able to go home in a few days. The hospital and doctor in Boston have been amazing and we are so grateful that they have given this precious gift to Sherlda and her family.

There are a few other health concerns with Sherlda that the doctors are working on, but on a whole she is doing very well and everyone is so relieved. Thank you for your prayers and concern. We will try to keep everyone updated.

We need your help!

2008-10-25T13:47:00.002-04:00

Are you traveling to Haiti in the next few months?

Would you be willing to carry down some supplies for us?

If so- please contact Shannon ASAP at:

s_breitenfeld@yahoo.com

Thanks for your consideration!

A New Life for Martine: A True Story

2008-10-24T12:25:00.002-04:00

Infant Martine had lived with congestive heart failure since birth with no chance of medical treatment in Haiti.

Posted on: Oct 15, 2008 at 12:55 PM PDT
Channel: Local News
Location: Snoqualmie, WA
Snoqualmie WA (October 15, 2008)

Five years ago, when Bekki and Eddie Ortiz adopted Djenica (zhe-NEE-ka), a beautiful little girl from Haiti, little did they realize what would follow. As Djenica flourished in America, they both felt drawn to do something to help other children from their adopted daughter’s homeland, but what?

The answer came when Bekki learned about two organizations. One was Real Hope for Haiti, a private medical ministry in Cazale, Haiti. The other was a Bellingham, Washington based Medical Advocacy Team that brings lifesaving treatment to third world children. Inspired by this new information, she and Eddie began their life changing, life saving journey.

Within months, Bekki flew to Haiti stopping just long enough to pick up infant Martine before returning home. Martine was chosen because she had a ventricular septal defect in her heart. Essentially, she had been living in a state of congestive heart failure since birth with no chance for medical treatment in Haiti.

Following open heart surgery in Portland OR, Martine found herself in the loving home of the Ortiz family and under the care of medical professionals from Snoqualmie Valley Hospital who generously donating their time and expertise. Martine soon began to thrive under the post-surgery pediatric care of Dr. Ron Spiegel and physical therapy from Sarah Poeschl, DPT.

“Initially Martine barely had the strength to hold her head up and would only occasionally smile,” according to Poeschl. “Now she not only sits by herself, she even has special words for her foster mother and father and has turned into quite the social butterfly.” Poeschl continued, “I am impressed with this little girl and everything she has already been through in her short life. I am sure with her determination she will reach her highest potential.” To this, foster father Eddie adds, "Martine is the best-natured baby we've ever had - including our own four kids."

But this is a story with an even happier ending, because Bekki and Eddie have learned that an American family has adopted Martine. “We have totally cherish our time with Martine” reflected Bekki. “It will be a heartbreak for me, but we brought her here, got her surgery and got her healthy. What I most care about is that she is strong enough to thrive.”

What’s next for Bekki and Eddie? Another baby is scheduled to arrive at the Ortiz house, another surgery is being planned, and another second chance. The story continues.

Real Help for Haiti, www.realhopeforhaiti.org

Medical Advocacy Team, www.medicaladvocacyteam.blogspot.com

To learn more about the care provided Martine by the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District, or to arrange for interviews, please contact Scott Scowcroft at scotts@snoqualmiehospital.org

Found!

2008-10-14T21:45:00.001-04:00

We think we have found a host family in Boston! Thanks all!

URGENT NEED!!

2008-10-13T12:52:00.001-04:00

Host Family Needed: Boston, MA
We are in need of a host family in Boston, MA for a 19 month old little girl that will be having heart surgery in Boston. Her mother will be traveling with her, and we will need a host family willing to host both child and mother for a couple of months (1-2 months probably).
If you are interested in being considered as a host family for this little girl please email our host family coordinator Kim at: smithjklc@hotmail.com

This little girl has her first pre-op surgery appointment THIS MONTH and we need to find someone quickly who is going to be very "on the ball" with filling out the application to host etc.
Thank you all! :)