Ken...

Yeah, another little precious angel has made it to the States for life altering procedures. Ken, like Jerrensia, is from God's Littlest Angels Orphanage, in Kenskoff, Haiti. We started Jerrensia and Ken's medical visa process at the same time and finally Ken came to the US a few weeks ago. He has adjusted to life well in Nashville, TN with his amazing host family! The host family has 3 older children that are spoiling Ken rotten, and from what I have heard, so has their entire town. :-) Thank you Elizabeth and Jason for taking Ken in to your home and welcoming him with outstretched arms and love!

Ken will start his appointments next week for his ptosis issues with his eyes and then he will be seen by a pediatric Orthopedists in the following weeks for his deformed left leg. With Ken's personality, he is going to win over the doctors and nurses and be their favorite patient.


Here is an update from Elizabeth, Ken's host mom:
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On April 9 after ten months of a lot of “hurry up and wait,” Jason and I could hardly believe we were on our way to Haiti to bring 13-month-old Ken back to Nashville. Those ten months included applying for and being approved to be medical foster parents; traveling to Haiti last June on a mission trip with another organization but getting to experience a brief-but-wonderful 30 minutes holding Ken while picking up his x-rays at GLA; being rejected by numerous doctors and hospitals for Ken’s pro bono care; identifying an enthusiastic surgeon in Nashville who championed his case and ultimately secured the pro bono commitments; and waiting for birth certificate, passport, medical visa and travel documents.

Aside from our decision to get married, I don’t suppose that we have ever been able to say with as much conviction that God was calling us to a particular action. But, in this instance, caring for this precious child, this particular child, has seemed from the beginning to be a connection crafted by our Creator. We have also been gratified and overjoyed to watch God work in our family, as Hannah, Caroline and Ben have embraced the idea and the reality. They have been every bit as excited and happy as Jason and I are.

When we arrived at GLA on April 9, Jason and I found Ken on the balcony playing with Emelyne , one of his very favorite volunteers. He allowed me to hold him but looked at me a bit warily, as I would expect any 13-month-old to do, and returned quickly to Emelyne’s arms. As we sat on the floor to play, though, he warmed up quickly and we began to see his winning personality emerge! Though Ken was born with fibular hemimelia (he is missing the fibula in his lower left leg), he can crawl like crazy and even stands on his strong right leg. He also has a ptosis of the left eyelid and seems to deal with strabismus in both eyes, but we were thrilled to find that he seems to see quite well. Every moment felt like a gift after loving Ken for all those months from a distance, not getting to really know him. Soon, we packed up some supplies and headed to the GLA guest house to spend time getting to know Ken better and allowing him the chance to get comfortable with us before our trip home. We were prepared for the transition to be difficult for Ken, but he embraced us with a trust that made it clear he had been well loved during his year at GLA. Soon, he was showing us his huge, toothy grin and darling dimple.

The day we left Haiti, Dixie provided us with perfect, step-by-step instructions for making our way through the airport and immigration so that we faced no surprises on the trip. Ken entertained folks on the flights and in the airports with his beautiful baby babble (or is he speaking Creole?) and, though we arrived close to midnight, he was such a trooper and smiled sweetly at his Nashville siblings. In the days since his arrival, Ken has welcomed so many friends and family here in Nashville who have prayed for him for months. He has settled into our lives as if he has always been here, even attending his sister’s senior prom! This week, we begin the appointments with pediatrician, ophthalmologist, ocular plastic surgeon and orthopedist. Our God has blessed Ken with just the spirit, determination and charm he will need to weather the challenges ahead. Let the healing begin!

Here is a brief update from Ken's host mom on his recent appointments. Thank you GLA for keeping all of your children so healthy!!!!!
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Pediatrician
He has seen our pediatrician twice now, and though below the charts in weight for his age, was pronounced completely healthy. He had lost one ounce at first visit, so returned one week later with a 15 oz weight gain.

Yesterday, we saw both the ophthalmologist and the orthopedist.

Ophthalmologist

The ophthalmologist said Ken’s “good” right eye is completely normal. The left (ptosis) eye has some amblyopia, so she asked us to try patching his good eye for one hour per day, which we began today (see attached picture). No strabismus surgery is necessary at this time so we will proceed with appointment with ocular plastics doctor next week for scheduling first eyelid lift surgery.

Orthopedist

The orthopedist named 7 issues with Ken’s left leg and recommended a combined straightening of the tibia and amputation of the foot/ankle in one surgery, with the heel pad being moved to the stump to allow for weight bearing skin should that ever be needed. He suggested that, if we were interested, we consult with Dr. Dror Paley in Florida who is the leading limb lengthening surgeon in the country. We don’t feel inclined to do that at this point after reading so many accounts of the pain and multiple surgeries required in limb lengthening. The orthopedist said that clearly Ken is happy and active and will learn to walk whenever his limbs allow for it! (He also predicted that Ken will be a famous musical entertainer someday)

Jerrensia...

(Miss J and her two fabulous host brothers...)

Here is the latest on Miss J, as she has stolen the hearts of everyone who meets her! Jerrensia, sweetheart, God has marked you for amazing things and we are all just so very blessed to be a part of your journey!
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It was eleven weeks ago, today, that our family woke up to a little princess sleeping in the room next door. I expected there would be an adjustment period, especially going from 78 degrees in the mountains of a tropical island to 14 degrees and multiple feet of snow in Michigan. In addition to the change in weather, Jerrensia woke up to a new home, room, bed, blankets, toys, kids, grown ups, sounds, smells, food, car seat, schedules, music lessons and gymnastics (for her brothers), school drop offs and pick ups, doctors, physical therapy, occupational therapy, x-rays, casts, cast removal, more casts, surgery, MRI, audiologists, ophthalmologists, and a host of other things. This is a lot to embrace for a kid. I’m not going to lie, I expected this to be extremely traumatic for her. By the grace of God, I was absolutely wrong. Getting in late the night before, the first glimpse Jerrensia had of her new world was when she woke up in her ridiculously wonderful fuchsia bedroom the next morning. Our boys, eight and four years old, could not wait to meet her! We had been praying for this sweet girl as a family since we met her ten months earlier. The part that is still so surreal to me, is that she woke up and seemed to know that she was ours and we were hers (in a manner of speaking). There was no transition period. It was like she had always been here. Everything just fit.

Since she’s been here, she’s learned how to use a spoon and fork, drink from a sippy cup, say ‘mama,’ ‘dada,’ ‘brah’ (short for brother), use sign language for ‘food’ and ‘more,’ and scoot around on her toddler wheelchair. She loves to sing and dance, climb on her brothers who are absolutely smitten with her (the four year old calls her Miss Princess), and play with her Little People Princesses in her brother’s Batman Bat Cave. She’s also been known to play with Batman in the Princess Castle. Fortunately, the boys don’t mind. They’re just as content to play with the princesses alongside Batman.

We jumped right into physical and occupational therapy to begin to assess her abilities, and what areas we needed to focus on. Soon after, she saw the pediatric orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed her with a rare birth defect called Caudal Regression Syndrome. She doesn’t fit all the characteristics but her joints can be described as Arthrogrypotic. Many of them just never fully developed. Current known issues: her hips are dislocated, her knee caps never developed, there is webbing behind her knees preventing her from straightening her legs, toes and ankles are underdeveloped, she has little muscle control, and bilateral club feet with the severe contractions in the middle of her feet. Right now, we’re focusing on her feet and getting them to a plantable grade as well as working on stretching her knees to try and get them as straight as possible.

Next step would be having the prosthetics department build her a standing frame that will help her to become weight bearing on her feet. If she does have muscles in addition to the isolated ones she’s shown us, that will help them to grow and become strong for additional mobility. She just had the Tenotomy done last week which released her Achilles tendon, allowing her ankles to flex, and is in another set of casts which will continue to be replaced every couple of weeks for an indefinite amount of time.

The MRI was done yesterday to begin to investigate some of the neurological issues we’re noticing with the right side of her face. This is still the very beginning of a long road of healing for Jerrensia. She has been very brave with all the appointments but she does have a high level of stranger anxiety that, so far, only the physical therapist and one of her sedation nurses have been able to break through. However, we could not ask for a better medical team to surround her. I’m truly brought to tears by their generosity and the high level of care they have given Jerrensia and to our family throughout this process. Our doctors have the wisdom that so many prayed for and as I mentioned earlier, she’s adjusted so well to life in our home.

But the path from a wheelchair prognosis to one that would include walking is a long and very difficult one, and right now, she doesn’t understand any of it. So our largest prayer request would be for her peace in the medical process, and of course, continued healing. Thank you to all of you who have kept this precious girl in your prayers!

Look Who's Lookin' Pretty in Pink...

Jerrensia was able to start her series of castings last week. And... if you have to wear casts for weeks at a time, you might as well be stylin', and that is the way Miss Jerrensia is going. :-) Since getting her casts last week, she has had to have both legs re-cast. Since her legs are the way they are, her casts can slip really easily and more than 1/2 " of slipping and they have to be re-cast. They are going to try to use some adhesive binder, but it sometimes can lighten pigment. So pray with me that her casts stay on and that if they do use the binder, that her skin stays nice and beautifully brown.

We have 3 kiddos on the docket, ready to come over. Please keep Ken, Sonia, and Michno in your prayers. All of their medical issues are different and they are all in different stages of their medical visa process. Pray that doors are opened and each of these 3 angels gets a second chance to a much more normal life.

Rebekah

Update on Jerrensia...

(Doesn't she look like a young Della Reese?)

Hands That Heal has been so busy lately. We went from no patients coming to the US in 2010, to working on 4 patients, all from God's Littlest Angels orphanage (GLA), all at the same time. God gave us a rest in 2010 to gear up for 2011. God is moving in so many ways it is making my head spin. I can't wait to fill you all in on some of the amazing ways that God is using 'the least of the least of these'!

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NIV)

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

I love how The Message version of this passage is written:

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (The Message)

^26-31Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."

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Speaking of a child that God is using for His glory, here is an update on Jerrensia: This is paraphrased from Jen, Jerrensia's host mom! Thanks so much Jen and Jay for taking such good care of this princess...

The first week has gone really well... better than I anticipated actually. Jerrensia seems to be taking everything in stride. She plays really well with my boys and overall seems very curious about her new world. The car seat doesn't bother her though you can tell she'd prefer not to wear the puffy coat. She's eating and sleeping well too. She's still very cautious around men. Jay's parents came to visit yesterday and she didn't want to have anything to do with Jay's dad. She was initially very cautious around Jay but she's warmed up to him in the last couple days too. I can now leave the room when he's holding her and she won't cry! She really doesn't babble too much, but she sings and dances constantly.

In terms of the doctor's appointments, here is what we've had thus far, and what we have ahead:

Wednesday 1/12
Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Assessment:

They did a fairly thorough evaluation of the range of motion and fine motor skills. I don't think we really learned anything new in this appointment. Her hips are the biggest issue, of course. She has incredible upper body strength which will be in her benefit should she need orthotic bracing. The range of motion in her knees is extremely limited. They gave us a sheet of exercises to do with her at home to help "stretch" the skin because it's so tight right now. She has something going on in the right side of her body. When she is sitting or reaching for objects, she's overcompensating with her left side which is throwing her spine off center. There is an overall weakness on the right side. In terms of fine motor skills, she's moving food around in her mouth and mashing it at an age appropriate level. They recommend we start her on table foods and she's been doing great with that. Developmentally, she's still around 9-12 months with picking up objects and being able to deliberately put them down in specific places, as well as use her index finger and thumb to pick up food rather than just grabbing it by using her fist. She hasn't worked at developing the fine motor skills because of the need to use her hands/arms for mobility. Her feet are the size of a newborn baby because they're not weight bearing yet. Apparently feet don't really start to grow until a baby starts standing.

Thursday 1/13
Pediatrician Checkup
Our primary care physician did a slightly different evaluation on Jerrensia. Spina Bifida was ruled out, her heart seems perfect (no murmurs), and her lungs clear. She did an light test on her retinas and the right side shows a bit of cloudiness-- not as reflective as the left which she thought was a possible indicator of a level of blindness. The right eye is also "lazy" primarily when she looks up, though I noticed it strayed when she was looking straight at me a couple days ago. Both of her ears tested low (right side lower than left) using a tool that bounces sound waves into the ear drum and measures what comes back. Both her eyes and and ears were enough of a concern that we received referrals for a pediatric audiologist and pediatric ophthalmologist. Those appointments are January 27th and February 1st, respectively. She had initial thoughts on her legs and possible courses of treatment, but I'm looking forward to hearing Dr. Maples assessment.

Moving forward, we have 2 - 1 hour physical therapy sessions every week (Tues/Thurs) and 1 - 1 hour occupational therapy appointment following the physical therapy session on Tuesdays.

In other news, Dr. Maples had a cancellation and will be able to see Jerrensia on Monday!!! Woo hoo!!

Jen Kroll
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So, that is the latest on Jerrensia, and more to come on Sonia, Ken, and Michno soon. If you want to get the latest on Sonia, go here.

Thank you for all of your support for HTH. On behalf of the HTH team, and the precious ones that we work for in Haiti: THANK YOU!!!

Rebekah Hubley
Founder and Director of Hands That Heal

Are You Still Out There???

(Jerrensia and Jen--Her amazing host mom)

If we still have any readers checking on us, we are still here... :-) Being the Founder of HTH, I, along with our nurse coordinator, Stephanie Mueller, keep this blog up. Both of us have had one of the busiest/hardest years of our lives. Both of us have children with special needs, and some of our children have had an eventful year. In saying all of this, 2011 brings us both to a year of healing and moving forward.

We did not have any children come to the US on Medical Visas in 2010, which was a blessing from God. We just had our first medical visa child of 2011, and Jerrensia Charles could not be a more beautiful way to start off 2011. I will be getting weekly or bi-weekly updates on Jerrensia from her host family,and will be posting them here.

Please pray for Michno and Ken, as they are 2 and 3 on our waiting list to get their medical visas. Michno has his passport and is just waiting on one more doc letter and then we can apply for his MV. We are still waiting on Ken's passport and then we will be able to proceed with his case. Both boys have host families waiting and praying for them. Please pray for patients for their host families as they wait. It can be very agonizing as host families to wait, knowing that the treatment is right at their fingertips while we wait on bureaucracy.

Thanks so much for praying for HTH, and for faithfully checking in on us!!!

Rebekah Hubley--Founder and Director of Hands That Heal

Jerrensia...

Everyone has fallen for this little peanut! How could you not... If you want to read the latest on her, go to here, to Melissa's blog.



Dixie is going to be taking her and another little boy to get x-rays soon. Then we will be able to start on her medical visa and getting her the care that she so deserves!

We are really still here...

Big post coming soon..... We have been very busy working on details and we have joined forces with GLA (God's Littlest Angels Orphanage). My son was adopted from GLA and we have had a fair share of HTH patients come from there. So, after the earthquake and restructuring how HTH is going to function post earthquake, it only made sense to both GLA and HTH to form a team. We are going to be looking for more medical based people to help with finding donated care for these kids. There are going to be a lot when medical visas open up; which we heard will be soon.

There is going to be a sponsorship program. We will still be doing medical visas for other children and adults too, as we have in the past, but this partnership is just going to be a bonus.

Can't wait to share all of the details with you soon...

In the midst of the chaos, Denel was ready to go back to Haiti to reunite with his family. You can read a glimpse of his return to Haiti here...

Thanks for your patience in our silence... We have felt all of your prayers...

**Also, Stephanie, our Nurse Coordinator, is back in Haiti for a week. This is her second trip to Haiti since the earthquake. She will be updating here...

One Month Ago Today...

One month ago today the entire world was drawn to Haiti. Some for the first time ever. Some people, prior to Jan. 12, 2010, would not have been able to find Haiti on the map. Now, that is not the case. But, as we reach one month out from the earthquake, where is Haiti on TV??? We cannot and will not forget Haiti! Hands That Heal was here long before the earthquake and we are here for the long haul.

Will you pray with us today, as Haiti fasts for 3 days, that Medical Visas would be re-instated again and we would be able to begin reaching out to Haiti's most vulnerable.

I leave you with this amazing tribute and prayer to Haiti...



Keep praying for Haiti!!! Rebekah

Update on Jean

Jean is one of Pastor Pierres workers that I see every time I am in Haiti. He is like a haitian brother to me. He has Epilepsy. Through Hands That Heal we were able to get him a CT scan and medicine that is not available in Haiti. Since he has been on the medicine for approx 3 months he has been seizure free! He is soooo happy. I talked to him about it this trip. He had the biggest smile, it was great. Jean is very quiet and reserved. I had to beg him to smile for this picture. He showed me a picture of his 1 yr old daughter and introduced me to his sister last week. It is amazing what a simple pill can do for someone to change their whole life. He lived with terrible seizures for 25 yrs and now can function and not be afraid to be alone.
What a blessing to be a part of that for me. God is so good!
Steph

Update on Flamanda

Flamanda is doing very well with her mom back in Chambrun. Her head has only gone down a tiny bit from when I saw her a month ago but she seemed still better. She smiled at her mom and let me hold her 2 Sunday's in a row at church the entire service with out crying. Her mom came to see me most every day while I was there. I'm thrilled at her progress! I will continue checking on her when I am in Haiti. I plan to return in April. Her mom does an amazing job taking care of her.

Update from Haiti

Many have been asking how my trip to Haiti was. I appreciate all you thoughts and prayers.

This trip ran the range of emotions for sure. It was happy and sad, scary and joyous, gutwrenching and aweinspiring all at the same time. We got there 10 days after the earthquake so the majority of bad injuries were already taken care of initially or the people died. We worked outside of PAP in Chambrun which is on the NE side and the epicenter was on the other side of PAP. Our clinic was extremely busy though. Everyone was effected by the earthquake even if it wasnt a physical injury. No food, water, shelter, anxiety, lack of sleep, aftershocks continued the first week I was there which made the Haitian people even more fearful. Most even if their homes were still standing would not go into them and slept in their yards under sheet tents.
Those that lost their homes are called Internally Displaced People or IDP. Many IDP camps are growing and growing. People making tents from sticks, trash, sheets or anything they can find. They find open flat areas and start building. Other join and pretty soon it is a large tent camp. Unfortunately the areas are not meant for living. No wells, or latrines available.
In the 2 weeks I was gone the camps grew and grew. We took our bus as a mobil clinic to some of the camps and administered meds there. It was an experience to see them first hand. One we got to walk through. The people are desperate and scared which made the clinics more dangerous and not as secure. Late into the day the people knew we could not see everyone and they would begin to push, shove and cut line which caused fights. Thankfully we had no major incidents at the IDP camps or in Chambrun which had the same thing going on every day.
We saw some injuries from the quake but not many. Luckly we had access to a helicopter service that could fly our most critical patients to a hospital. We flew around 7 or so patients out. Several very malnourished babies that had not had food for as long as 8 days. A broken arm that needed surgery and woman that had a miscarriage during the quake that had been bleeding for a long time. Otherwise we saw the same respiratory, GI, skin infections, colds and fevers. Many hungry people and dehydrated needed help. We started a handful of IV's and gave out tons of antibiotics, tylenol, antiacids and vitamins. All together we saw in 2 weeks 5,300 patients between Chambrun and the IDP camps.
Most of our translators have no place to live either and are sleeping in their yards or on the street. The university was completely collapsed with hundreds dead. In 45 seconds their lively hood, homes, some family members and all belongings were completely gone. Thier spirit remains intact somehow. The Haitian people are so strong! Their faith that God has a purpose for them and the will to continue on is amazing. We saw life continuing on as usual in many areas. People selling, buying, walking, smiling and living.
The gratitude is unbelievable that they share with us. They are truly thankful for anything even as small as a hug or a baggie of tylenol. It gives them the hope they need to continue going on.
We found out last week that 50,000 IDP's are going to be relocated across the street basically from our compound! God has definately placed us where He wants us to be able to minister to them. NVM has been financially blessed since this has happend and I am so happy to announce that we are going to begin construction very soon on our hospital. God has been very faithful to provide what we need. GAIN (Global Aid Network) has been partnering with NVM to help get aid and supplies as well. It has been a great blessing.
We are praying that through this tragedy that God will shine into the darkness of Haiti and real, permanent change will begin to be seen!
I was blessed beyond anything I can imagine to be able to serve with the people I did and witness the Haitian people surviving!
Thank you to all who prayed and supported me to do this. Tom and the boys did great while I was away. What a blessing!
Steph

Please pray for Stephanie...

Tomorrow at 5am our nurse coordinator, Stephanie Mueller, will be heading to Haiti for 14 days to do medical missions. She will be literally entering the pits of hell for a medical team. There are no supplies and medicine will be being practiced as it was 100 years ago. Here is her blog entry from her personal blog:
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Finally a plan
We are heading to the airport at 5am tomorrow morning. Flying into the Dominican Republic and renting a van to drive to PAP. Life has been more busy in the last week than I have ever had in my life. It is stressful, crazy and a lot of pressure. I am finally at a good point now. Packed supplies for team, myself, coordinated most everything I need to. I purchased hack saws and Vodka for doing amputations. Vodka for sterilizing instruments and maybe for the patient. They will be awake for the procedures. No narcotics available. It is going to be civil war style medicine. It sounds crazy and barbaric but if your limb has gangreen set in or is completely crushed what else is there to do. The amt of Haitians missing limbs will be staggering.
Im nervous, relieved to have a plan though.
Please pray and then pray some more. We should get into SantoDomingo tomorrow night and to PAP by Sat night.
I am staying for 14 days. I have not been away this long ever. Pray for the boys and Tom while Im gone too.
Steph
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Please keep her team and all of the other medical teams in your prayers!!! Pray for the people that they will be treating and pray that the love of Jesus will shine through to the people.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers!

Rebekah Hubley--Founder and Director

**Please consider making a donation through paypal today. 100% of our funds goes to helping the people of Haiti.

Denel hears Daphlene's voice for the first time...

Denel finally got to speak with his daughter, Daphlene, for the first time since Tuesday's quake. Two of Denel's sisters work at GLA,(God's Littlest Angels Orphanage) and they brought her there after retrieving her from Carrfouer. The house she was playing in fell on her and she had to be pulled out from under the rubble. It was a very emotional reunion, but it was twinged with him knowing that his fiance, Daphlene's mom, is sleeping on the streets and has nothing to eat or drink. Dixie, the director of GLA, has been able to take in some children of the staff, but she does not have the room or means to take in extended families. So, his reality of what is going on is so raw as he is warm here, clothed, and has more than enough food to eat.

***This is a disclaimer for the video: They had me translate into a microphone after I re-watched the skype. They DID NOT use the right clips with what I was translating. I am by no means an expert in Creole, but I translated great for him today, but the clips do not match up with what I was saying... :-) I just wanted to throw that out if you speak creole... I know my words do not match up with what he is saying in the clips... He really did say the things that I translated, only in different clips. lol...

Enough about that... Here is this amazing video of reuniting a family...

Denel and Witlene...

I spoke with Dixie Bickel today at GLA and she told me that Denel's house collapsed in the quake and that his daughter had to be pulled from the house. She is reported to be injured, but not badly. He is so understandably shook up! He will not believe that his fiance and his daughter are alive until he hears their voices. He was interviewed by our local stations today and you can click on it to see the report. Please use the side PayPal button to donate to our patients here in the US, and the ones that have returned to Haiti.

I got a hold of Witlene's brother today who lives in Buffalo, NY and he was able to tell me that Witlene and her family survived the quake, but their house, just off of Delmas, is completely destroyed!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please be in prayer for the people of Haiti.

PLease Pray for Haiti...

As many of you know... Haiti suffered the effects of an earthquake today with a magnitude of 7.3. Many after shocks of 5.0 and higher were felt for hours after. Here is an update from God's Littlest Angels Orphanage... (We help GLA with kids that need to go out on Medical Visas) Djemy and Jean Widler are from GLA. Sabrina also was from GLA. Here is an update from Dixie:
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NOTICE: WE ARE FINE AFTER THE 7.3 EARTHQUAKE. THE HOUSE SWAYED AND SHOOK. KNOCKED DOWN PEOPLE, KIDS, THE FOOD OFF THE STOVE FOR SUPPER, ALL OF MY GLASS WARE OUT OF THE CABINET, BUT WE ARE ALL OK! SHOOK UP A LITTLE, BUT OK! WILL POST MORE LATER! STILL HAVING AFTERSHOCKS AN HOUR AFTER THE MAIN EARTHQUAKE! PLEASE PRAY FOR US AND FOR HAITI!

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Here is a good article from Yahoo News:

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The strongest earthquake in more than 200 years rocked Haiti on Tuesday, collapsing a hospital where people screamed for help and heavily damaging the National Palace, U.N. peacekeeper headquarters and other buildings. U.S. officials reported bodies in the streets and an aid official described "total disaster and chaos."

United Nations officials said a large number of U.N. personnel were unaccounted for.

Communications were widely disrupted, making it impossible to get a full picture of damage as powerful aftershocks shook a desperately poor country where many buildings are flimsy. Electricity was out in some places.

Karel Zelenka, a Catholic Relief Services representative in Port-au-Prince, told U.S. colleagues before phone service failed that "there must be thousands of people dead," according to a spokeswoman for the aid group, Sara Fajardo.

"He reported that it was just total disaster and chaos, that there were clouds of dust surrounding Port-au-Prince," Fajardo said from the group's offices in Maryland.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington that embassy personnel were "literally in the dark" after power failed.

"They reported structures down. They reported a lot of walls down. They did see a number of bodies in the street and on the sidewalk that had been hit by debris. So clearly, there's going to be serious loss of life in this," he said.

Alain Le Roy, the U.N. peacekeeping chief in New York, said late Tuesday that the headquarters of the 9,000-member Haiti peacekeeping mission and other U.N. installations were seriously damaged.

"Contacts with the U.N. on the ground have been severely hampered," Le Roy said in a statement, adding: "For the moment, a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for."

Felix Augustin, Haiti's consul general in New York, said a portion of the National Palace had disintegrated.

"Buildings collapsed all over the place," he said. "We have lives that are destroyed. ... It will take at least two or three days for people to know what's going on."

An Associated Press videographer saw the wrecked hospital in Petionville, a hillside Port-au-Prince district that is home to many diplomats and wealthy Haitians, as well as many poor people. Elsewhere in the capital, a U.S. government official reported seeing houses that had tumbled into a ravine.

Kenson Calixte of Boston spoke to an uncle and cousin in Port-au-Prince shortly after the earthquake by phone. He could hear screaming in the background as his relatives described the frantic scene in the streets. His uncle told him that a small hotel near their home had collapsed, with people inside.

"They told me it was total chaos, a lot of devastation," he said. More than four hours later, he still was not able to get them back on the phone for an update.

Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Joseph, said from his Washington office that he spoke to President Rene Preval's chief of staff, Fritz Longchamp, just after the quake hit. He said Longchamp told him that "buildings were crumbling right and left" near the national palace. He too had not been able to get through by phone to Haiti since.

With phones down, some of the only communication came from social media such as Twitter. Richard Morse, a well-known musician who manages the famed Olafson Hotel, kept up a stream of dispatches on the aftershocks and damage reports. The news, based mostly on second-hand reports and photos, was disturbing, with people screaming in fear and roads blocked with debris. Belair, a slum even in the best of times, was said to be "a broken mess."

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince at a depth of 5 miles (8 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said. USGS geophysicist Kristin Marano called it the strongest earthquake since 1770 in what is now Haiti. In 1946, a magnitude-8.1 quake struck the Dominican Republic and also shook Haiti, producing a tsunami that killed 1,790 people.

The temblor appeared to have occurred along a strike-slip fault, where one side of a vertical fault slips horizontally past the other, said earthquake expert Tom Jordan at the University of Southern California. The earthquake's size and proximity to populated Port-au-Prince likely caused widespread casualties and structural damage, he said.

"It's going to be a real killer," he said. "Whenever something like this happens, you just hope for the best."

Most of Haiti's 9 million people are desperately poor, and after years of political instability the country has no real construction standards. In November 2008, following the collapse of a school in Petionville, the mayor of Port-au-Prince estimated about 60 percent of the buildings were shoddily built and unsafe in normal circumstances.

Tuesday's quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, and some panicked residents in the capital of Santo Domingo fled from their shaking homes. But no major damage was reported there.

In eastern Cuba, houses shook but there were also no reports of significant damage.

"We felt it very strongly and I would say for a long time. We had time to evacuate," said Monsignor Dionisio Garcia, archbishop of Santiago.

The few reports emerging from Haiti made clear the country had suffered extensive damage.

"Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken," said Henry Bahn, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official visiting Port-au-Prince. "The sky is just gray with dust."

Bahn said he was walking to his hotel room when the ground began to shake.

"I just held on and bounced across the wall," he said. "I just hear a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance."

Bahn said there were rocks strewn about and he saw a ravine where several homes had stood: "It's just full of collapsed walls and rubble and barbed wire."

In the community of Thomassin, just outside Port-au-Prince, Alain Denis said neighbors told him the only road to the capital had been cut but that phones were all dead so it was hard to determine the extent of the damage.

"At this point, everything is a rumor," he said. "It's dark. It's nighttime."

Former President Bill Clinton, the U.N.'s special envoy for Haiti, issued a statement saying his office would do whatever he could to help the nation recover and rebuild.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti," he said.

President Barack Obama ordered U.S. officials to start preparing in case humanitarian assistance was needed.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said his government planned to send a military aircraft carrying canned foods, medicine and drinking water and also would dispatch a team of 50 rescue workers

Haitian musician Wyclef Jean urged his fans to donate to earthquake relief efforts, saying he had received text messages from his homeland reporting that many people had died.

"We must think ahead for the aftershock, the people will need food, medicine, shelter, etc.," Jean said on his Web site.

Brazil's government was trying to re-establish communications with its embassy and military personnel in Haiti late Tuesday, according to the G1 Web site of Globo TV. Brazil leads a 9,000-member U.N. peacekeeping force there.

Felix Augustin, Haiti's consul general in New York, said he was concerned about everyone in Haiti, including his relatives.

"Communication is absolutely impossible," he said. "I've been trying to call my ministry and I cannot get through. ... It's mind-boggling."

Yahoo News
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PLEASE PRAY FOR HAITI AND HER PEOPLE!!!

Flamanda's Return Home

On December 28th I traveled to Haiti to return Flamanda to her mother. It was a long day flying back but Flamanda did great.

Her mom was super surprised. She did not know I was comming. She only knew Flamanda was comming home that week. She as you can see she is covered with mud. She had a big bucket and had been gathering mud to patch their mud hut. What a life. I cannot imagine. It was dark by the time we arrived. I left her with a few supplies and returned the next day to give her everything else we had brought for Flamanda and her brother. They live in a 10ft x 10ft sq mud box. Everything we brought filled up half her house. There was a small bed and a table, that was it. When I arrived the next day she was doing laundry in basins by hand. Again I cannot imagine. She said Flamanda had a difficult time falling asleep that night, she just kept looking around in the dark. Im sure it will take her a while to readjust to being home.
We left her mom with lots of food and formula. We hope she transitions well to Haitian food.
Thanks for all the prayers for her. It was a great honor to be a part of her journey from beginning to end. We are so thankful for Beaumont Hospital in MI and Dr. Zakalik for donating her surgery.
Steph

Georgy and His New Host Family...

This post will be short, as I have 5 minutes left of this day. But, before I go to bed I wanted you to all see Georgy with his new host family. We had him for 10 days when he first arrived and then he was transitioned to The Bearman's, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. He was sad to leave our family, but was so excited to have 6 new 'siblings'. He started school the following week, and has had some rough bumps, but is getting much more accustomed to how things 'work' in America. He will be here for a long time for his treatments and surgeries, so we knew that school would be an essential piece to his life here. He is doing great and is very smart.

Today I went over to The Bearman's on our way to a family Christmas. Beth, Georgy's host mom, wanted me to quick snap some pics for their Christmas cards. I was there for about 5-10 minutes and this is what we got. They are an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL family, so it was an EASY SHOOT!!! :-)

Here are some of my favorites in random order:

Denel...

Denel is an adult here in Fort Wayne with HTH. One year ago, Novemeber 6, 2008, his life was FOREVER changed!!! Denel grew up in Jeremy and then furthered his education in Port Au Prince. He went to the University there to further his education and received a degree in accounting. Denel was one of the lucky ones: he got his degree and he was able to find a job at a bank.

He lives in Carfou with his family and a 5 year old daughter. Last year on his way from Carfou to Delmas, the car in front of his got stopped by the infamous kidnappers. Denel was riding with 2 other co-workers and he was not driving. Their car was told to stop and they did. After the kidnappers were busy with the car in front of them, the driver of his car decided to attempt to escape. (I want you all to know that there were police that witnessed everything, but they were too scared of the kidnappers to get involved. They knew that they would be killed also.) His co-worker attempted to drive away and as they were being shot at, the vehicle hit a pothole and either got stuck or it slowed them down enough for some of the shooters to get close. (I am not 100% sure on that detail.)

So, as one of the shooters got closer, he shot through the window and one of the bullets went through Denel's right temporal lobe and out the left. When the bullet exited Denel's head, it his the woman sitting next to him in the arm. Fortunately, they got away and no one was killed. Denel survived this horrific, senseless, crime and woke up 10 days later with no vision and no sense of smell. The shock of the bullet going through his temporal lobes shattered his retinas off his eyes, destroyed the muscle for the eyelid in the left eye, and destroyed the olfactory lobe and left him with no sense of smell. He tastes very little since he cannot smell. He can tell if something is very sweet, salty, or spicy.

For the past year, Denel's family have spent most of their savings finding him help. Denel's sister works for God's Littlest Angels Orphanage, where a lot of our patients are from, and that is how we got involved.

In sharing Denel's story with you, I want to ask you all to cover him in prayer!!! We have seen the first ophthalmologist about 3 weeks ago and he can do cosmetic surgery for the one eye that can not open, but the retinal specialist needed to see him to see if any sight correction could be achieved. We saw Dr. Walker, a retinal specialist yesterday and Denel was told that there was nothing that can be done to restore any eyesight.

Obviously, Denel is devastated!!! He turned 32 in August, and was in the prime of his life as a Haitian man. He had a good job and was able to provide for his girlfriend and his 5 year old daughter. Now, with the news of never regaining his sight, he is left with soooooo many questions! "How will I survive in Haiti?" "How will I provide for my family?" "Will I ever work again?"

It is one thing to go blind here as an adult. It is just as devastating, but at least there are services here to assist these patients. In Haiti, there is NOTHING!!!!!! People are not accepting of disabilities. The disabled are made fun of and are not respected. This is now his REALITY!!!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE cover him in prayer! Denel is VERY INTELLIGENT and is a hard worker. He has been studying English since he arrived the end of October. Please pray that we are able to get him a job as a translator somewhere in Haiti!

Think of how blessed you are this Christmas season! Don't be focused on the 'things' that you can buy for Christmas, think of the way that same amount of money could help feed a family for more than a week. Now is the time to pay it forward to someone like Denel. Use your $ to help someone instead of buying a toy on a shelf that will more than likely break in a couple months. With HTH your $ is going to save or change someone's life FOREVER!!!

Would you consider donating to HTH today by using our Paypal button?

Thank you in advance for your continued prayers and support of Hands That Heal!

Rebekah Hubley
Founder and Director

A LOT to update...

I have a lot of updates on all of our kiddos, but one is pertinent right now!
Jean Widler is here on a US medical Visa for his strabismus (crossed eyes), but has had constant respiratory issues and ear infections since he arrived and before when he was in Haiti.

His host mom took him for a consult with an ENT (Dr. Stein) on Monday, and he scheduled surgery to remove the adenoids and to place tubes in his ears, for today. Surgery went great! They removed a lot of fluid from his ears and they are treating the infection now with antibiotic ear drops and an oral antibiotic for the thick mucus that they discovered in his lungs. He entire sinus tracks were filled with thick mucus and they were able to suction all of that out.

He is in recovery and when he is sleeping, his SATS are dropping as low as 78. NOT GOOD! The anesthesiologist is on the fence as to admit him overnight or not. Dr. Andrew Landrigan our Pediatrician for our HTH kids is going to see him after his lunch break.

Please pray that he gets to go home today and does not need to be observed overnight. Pray that his SATS come up miraculously and that they stay constant.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for HTH!!!

Flamanda

Flamanda was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. She is doing well. She is eating babyfood well but they left the feeding tube in with formula going in for extra nutrition. She has a doctor appointment with the surgeon in 2 weeks. They will decide then if she still needs the feeding tube in depending on how well she is getting fluids in. The surgeon was happy with how her head was looking. It should continue to slowly drain fluid. She can close her eyes all the way now which she couldnt do before as her eyes are not bulging out as much. The surgeon was impressed at how she tracked objects and how alert she was.Continue to pray for healing and that the drainage hole stays open.
Thanks,
HTH

Flamanda

Flamanda had her surgery yesterday. She did great with it. They were able to put in a drainage hole instead of a shunt to drain the fluid off her brain. There is a 30% chance the hole could close. In that case she will need a shunt and that is much more difficult to maintain in Haiti. Please pray the hole stays open. Pray for her mother as she is away from her and for her host family dealing with surgery and being away from family over Thanksgiving.
What a praise that we were able to get her here for surgery and that she is doing so well.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers for our kids,
HTH

Crazy Busy...

Life at our house has been 'Crazy Busy' since Georgy got here last Wednesday. I will update more in a day or so. We have learned SO MANY things about his life in Haiti, and it breaks my heart!!!! He is learning things so quickly. He is LOVING, LOVING, LOVING our shower/bathtub. He laughed hysterically the first time I showed him that the water can actually stay in the tub. :-) We will be transitioning him to a new host family in the next couple of weeks. Pray that the transition is not too stressful on him and pray that we have direction on where to place him. We have a couple options and both families are amazing!!!! We should be going this week for his first set of blood work. More later... Here is a pic from the other night... (Luca and Georgy)(Thanks Pastor Kerry!!!)



Here are 2 photos that I took the night that he arrived. He traveled with an amazing AA Ambassador, Dennis! The little boy in these 2 photos is not the same little boy just 4 days later!!! He is soooooo happy and ran around like a 'mad man' playing tag at a park today. It is amazing what love, attention, and food does to a child's spirit!!!

Georgy is here...

Georgy is sleeping now. WOW... That is all I can say. I see how we have WAY TOO MUCH through his eyes. He walked in the back door and there were little shoes scattered on the floor. He looked at me with his big eyes, and you could totally read his thoughts: "You have that many kids???" He has ONE pair of shoes... He came with one very small duffel bag. WE HAVE SO MUCH COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE WORLD!!!!!

Georgy

Hands That Heal has a new patient coming tomorrow night from Haiti. His name is Georgy. He is 11 years old, from Angel Missions Haiti, and we have been told he is a very pleasant child. He will be seeing a urologist in Indy and having genetic counseling done. His care will be life altering for him and will require a very dedicated family with a lot of sensitivity to his emotional needs as we are not yet sure what all will be required to fix his specific needs until he arrives and testing can be done.
Rebekah and her family will be keeping Georgy for a few weeks until we can find a longer term family for him. More information will be available as he arrives.
If you are within 2 hours of the Indy area and are interested in hosting him or know someone that might be, or would like more information on him please contact either Rebekah or Stephanie.
Rebekah is also in need of clothing for Georgy. We are guessing size 8-10 slim boy, girl or neutral clothes are good, we are trying to build up supply of clothes for future kids too all sizes. Shoes and underwear are also a need. If you are in or near Ft.Wayne and can help with this please contact Rebekah.
Prayer for Rebekah's family and for Georgy's transition would be very appreciated. His case will be very delicate and we do not have a lot of details yet.
Thank you,
HTH

HTH in the news...

HTH got some PR today... Hopefully this will cause some more awareness of the need to help within our community. God always provides in mysterious ways!!!

Here is the video... (Hands That Heal interview)

Linda Jackson did a great job editing our 45 minute conversation. HTH was prominent and that was my hope! This ministry has nothing to do with me, but all to do with the people of Haiti needing help, and how God provides in the most miraculous ways!!!

Halloween...

Jean Widler had his first experience with Halloween. His host family could not have picked a better outfit for him. He is obviously seeing better, since he could see where the candy was 'hidden'. :-)
-------------------------------------------------
Here is a little note from his host mom, Nancy.

Cutest little bumble bee of this year!

Notice, it didn't take long for him to figure out where the loot
is...he kept trying to climb the stairs for different angles to that
wonderful bowl of goodies that he was just a bit too short to reach!
-------------------------------------------------




Jean had another eye appointment this past Friday and the doctor is having the Stanley's patch his good eye for one hour a day to start strengthening and retraining the muscle in his right eye. He does not want to do corrective surgery before he sees if the brain will retrain the muscle by itself, now that he is able to see with his glasses. By patching the good eye, his brain will be forced to work with the right eye muscle and learn to use it properly. He will go back to the eye doctor in 6 weeks to see if there was any progress made. At that time, more definite things will be decided for Jean's eye surgery. First Steps has also evaluated him and he is behind in all areas except cognition. We have always known that he was one smart cookie. He will start receiving services as soon as the therapy plan is written up.

Thank you for remembering to pray for HTH, our patients, and our AMAZING host families!

We could not do this without your support!!!

Flamanda's Doctor Appointment

Flamanda's Appointment
Flamanda had her first doctor appointment today. The doctor says from the CT done in Haiti he does not think she has much of a temporal lobe. They are going to be getting an MRI on the 5th. She had her pre-op lab work done and is doing great with her family. She is eating well and loves rocking with Papa Terry in the rocking chair. I think she is getting spoiled! They are doing a great job and their kids are loving having her with them. They say she seems very aware of what is going on around her.The doctor is going to do the procedure where a hole is drilled in the brain first to drain fluid. If in 2 days that isnt working he will place a shunt. If it seems to be working and draining fluid they will send her home to be watched for a while to make sure it continues to work. This also is dependent on what the MRI shows but that is the current plan for her.What a blessing for her to be able to receive this care.God is good!Stephanie

Photos of Flamanda

First picture of Flamanda and her mom after we got the visa, second of Flamanda in her carseat on her way to Michigan and the third is her new host mom and one of her new brothers who is also from Haiti.

Praise God Flamanda is here

Well we made it home without any problems at all. Flamanda was a great traveler and I was so blessed to have a great team with me to help carry her. Her head is very very heavy and my arms are killing me. She only cried a little on each plane. She is missing her mom and breastfeeding very much. She does take a bottle and we have found out loves baby food! Yesterday I was so tired. I drove her 4 hours up to Michigan and she decided that our saftey laws and car seats really stink. She literally cried and screamed the entire way. It was a very long drive but we made it and met up with her host family. They are very experienced and have had several children like her before. I felt so comfortable leaving her with them. They have many older children that can help too. She has her doctor appointment next wedneday for all her pre op stuff and hopefully her MRI also that day. Please continue to pray for her to adjust and her mom to adjust in Haiti to not having her there. It was very obvious how much she loves her and was emotional and hard but happy to take her from her at the airport.We are very happy to have the Swarthout family taking care of her. They will be updating us often. She called me this morning and said Flamanda slept in her crib all night and is chowing down on baby food and drinking a little better from her bottle. What a praise and blessing.

Pray for Flamanda

Please join us in praying for Flamanda. We are in need of a family in or very near Detroit. We have a doctor and hospital but need the host family. She is getting worse and her head is extremely large now. Her CT scans show that she has had or still possibly does have an infectious process in her brain. She may require a lot of care initially. I am leaving for Haiti next Tuesday and returning the 20th. We are praying for me to bring her home that day with me. If we dont find the host family soon we will be unable to get the paperwork done in time for her to get the visa.
Please pray and if anyone that reads this know of an appropriate family in or very near Detroit that might be willing to take this task on please let us know.
Thanks,
Stephanie

AFRICA...

Are you wondering why on earth I would entitle a post "AFRICA"???? Well, God has called Hands That Heal to broaden our ministry to Africa. Not something that we were looking for, quite frankly, it was a bit overwhelming at first!!! But, it was God directed, and we will follow wherever He wants our ministry to go! Our primary focus has always been Haiti, because well, I know Haiti and our Nurse Coordinator goes to Haiti every 6 months on medical mission's trips. Haiti is comfortable, familiar, close, etc...

God has spoken in a VERY CLEAR WAY, and we are just going with the flow!!! Our primary focus will still be Haiti, and probably 95% of our patients will still come from Haiti, but our advisory board has agreed to consider any patient from any country and we will go where we feel God leading. Obviously, there are sick people all over the world that need medical intervention. One small organization like us is a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things. We just feel extremely blessed to be able to be such a small part of God's plan!!!!!! This is my passion, and I know that I am in the center of God's will for my life when I am doing His work for "the least of these"!

So, do you want to meet our first patient from Africa???

Meet: Kwaku Danquah


Kwaku has a congenital condition called Crouzon Syndrome. He is not missing his arm, it is just behind his back. (Here is the brief explanation that my son's Ophthalmologist gave on Kwaku.) It is a condition where the sagittal cranial suture of the skull that is not usually fused in an infant to allow for rapid growth of the skull becomes prematurely fused. The remaining sutures are not closed so the skull continues to grow and this results in the odd shape of the head. The risk it that there could be increased pressure on the brain as well. Also, this condition is sometimes part of a hereditary syndrome called Crouzon syndrome that also includes facial abnormalities like protruding eyes (exophthalmous) and/or strabismus and jaw abnormalities.

Dr. McCabe diagnosed Kwaku from his photo and I started doing research on this particular syndrome. There was a sight that had a lot of information on it, and they had before and after photos of the kids that they treated, and they were amazing. They do not even look like the same kids!!! So, there was a contact button and I e-mailed them, not knowing "who" they were, and the next day got an e-mail stating that he was being submitted to charity care immediately.

Little did I know that I had contacted the World Craniofacial Foundation and Dr. Genecov had forwarded my e-mail on. Kwaku was being submitted to Dallas City Medical, where the conjoined Egyptian twins had been separated, and Dr. Genecov was one of the main surgeons on their case. Dr. Salyer was the leading surgeon and he has now retired. Dr. Genecov studied under him for 12 years.

I was stunned!!! I had 'accidentally' contacted the best place in the world for cranial facial reconstruction, and the best place for Kwaku to have a shot at a much more normal life.

In the last couple of years, they brought a boy here from Uganda with this same condition. I will put some links below for you to go and watch his story on You Tube. It is truly amazing!!!!!!

So, where are we at in his case??? Ghana is getting his passport. We are just waiting for Dallas City Medical to accept his case and we will get all of the letters together for his Medical Visa. God is so cool and I can't believe that we get to be a part of this!!! Please keep Kwaku in your prayers and that we would here something on Monday about his case.

Here are before and after photos of another boy from Africa that they helped. (Blogger will not let me rotate the first set of pre-op pics. It is not this way in its original form.)




AMAZING TRANSFORMATION, RIGHT!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDY20BwDisU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoTMdRInf4Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGLTm2Jz8FM

Here is a link to The World Craniofacial Foundation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Alk2QIL5DY

Please take the time to watch all of these. These doctors are transforming lives and spirits!!!

Hands That Heal wants to say a special Thank You to Dr. Genecov for pursuing Kwaku and for the amazing work of WCF!!!

Rebekah Hubley
Founder and Director

Flamanda

Hello everyone, this is Flamanda. She is a HTH patient that we have been unable to find care for as of yet. The top picture is of her in April and the bottom is now. Her Hydrocephalus is getting worse and worse. I had hoped that she might have surgery in Indy but they cannot take on any more patients until January. Since I found this out a few weeks ago I have been trying with not much success to find a place for her to be treated. It is so sad and unfair, if she would have been born here she would be a totally normal girl. She is living with her family still and they are praying for us to find somewhere to help their little girl.

I am praying for a miracle for her as she is getting worse every day. Please pray we can find somewhere for her to be treated very soon.

Thanks

Stephanie