Mirna’s Brain Tumor Removed

IHC volunteers removed Mirna’s brain tumor sev­eral years ago. Her home country of Belize did not have the medical resources or expertise to remove the tumor, so IHC stepped in to help.

Unfortunately, another brain tumor recently ap­peared. Because Mirna is now 19, she and her mother worried that IHC would not be able to help this time. But IHC makes a commitment to follow-up with each patient, even as they grow older.

After a successful surgery, Mirna has started an aggressive radiation treatment along with physical therapy. The combination of radiation and physical therapy is challenging but Mirna has a strong spirit and is staying upbeat!

Exequiel Comes To Richmond!

Exequiel and his mother arrived from Belize last week. Three-year-old Exequiel was born with holes in his heart that require surgery to repair. The medical expertise and resources necessary for this critical surgery are not available in Belize, so IHC volunteer pediatric surgeons will conduct the surgery in Rich­mond. Once Exequiel’s heart defect is repaired, he will have the energy and lifespan of a normal child!

Thank You Note from Aaron…

Aaron in the post-operative recovery unit at Milton Cato Hospital with IHC volunteer nurse Toni Napoli.

Aaron from St. Vincent received a total hip replacement during the most recent IHC orthopedic mission. He expresses his gratitude for receiving a surgery for which he has waited so long.

IHC is competing in an online challenge!

The countdown has begun! IHC has less than ten days to raise $4,000 from 50 donors to earn a permanent spot on GlobalGiving.com. We are over halfway to our goal, but we need your help to meet it! Please consider making a donation by September 18 on Global Giving: http://www.globalgiving.com/3405

Every donation helps! A donation of $10 will enable IHC to reach a new network of friends. It will also help fund IHC’s next orthopedic mission to the Caribbean. This fall, we hope to reach an estimated 130 youth with life-enhancing care.  Without this help, these children may remain immobile–unable to walk to school, stand without help, or live a normal life. These are children like 12-year-old Zenel who was healed on a past mission trip. She was born severely bowlegged and needed surgery in order to walk. Thanks to IHC, Zenel has hopes for a normal life, free of suffering.

Thank you in advance for your help,    

Susan Rickman, IHC President

Communications Barrier Breakthrough

Abdiel and Enelda’s stay with International Hospital for Children was longer than most of the families IHC serve, but, as an intern for the organization, it gave me the opportunity to get to know a family from another country and to learn about communication barriers. The five-year-old and his mother, from Belize, were so quiet when I first met them that I could barely produce a one or two word answer from either of them. They were anxious and quiet and I just couldn’t get a conversation going.

To my surprise, towards the end of their stay, the barriers finally broke. I was watching Cars and Wall-E with Abdiel in the waiting room before his final follow-up appointment. He suddenly seemed excited to be talking to me and told me all about his favorite characters and which parts of the movies were the best. After the doctor cleared Abdiel and Enelda to go home to Belize, his mother seemed to relax as well. She smiled and all of a sudden  began to talk my ear off. You could hear excitement in her voice as she told me about her other kids and how much this means to her and her whole family that Abdiel is going to be well now.

I know how scary a new country with a different language can be and it meant a lot to me to see them both finally open up. 

Submitted by Danny, IHC intern