1st Annual Healing the Children Greater Philadelphia 5K Fun Run/Walk

Date:  Saturday, April 28, 2012

Cooper River Park

1301 North Park Drive

Pennsauken, NJ 08103

Check-in 8 AM – 9 AM (registration tent inside track)

5K start 9 AM

Rain or Shine

Pre-register before April 23: Adults $20

Adults – $25, Children under 12 – $10

Click Here to Download REGISTRATION FORM

Please Complete and mail with check to

Healing the Children Greater

Philadelphia c/o Gwyn Hurd

8 Mulberry Court

Tabernacle, NJ 08088

Here’s a clip that was aired on Thursday January 5, 2012 on NBC 10.   

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

Today is our final day in Addis Ababa. There were a few more cases performed in the OR, and the patients from yesterday were checked on. The most important part now is to make sure these patients will be cared for properly when we leave. The plan of care for each patient was discussed with the residents and they should be able to follow-up with everyone and make sure they are healing well. Our audiologist has continued to perform hearing exams at Makanissa and she has also fit some children for hearing aids. Before we left Cure Hospital, the staff had a going away celebration to express their gratitude. I have learned so much from the beautiful children of Ethiopia, so it is hard for me to say good-bye. Many of these children have suffered, but they are still making the most out of their situations and finding ways to survive and even smile and play the way children should. This trip was a great success and it is because of all the hard work from donors, the staff who traveled and the staff at Black Lion, Cure and Makanissa. I have also learned how difficult these trips can be, but with everyone working together no task is impossible.

As the end of our trip draws near there is a push to complete the tasks we set out to do, and make sure patients are well cared for when we leave. At Cure, there were more tympanoplasties, tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies performed. Every morning before we start OR procedures, we follow-up on the patients from the day before, and change their dressings. All of the children are doing well one day after their procedures. One boy was actually outside running around outside, playing with friends when we went to check on him. This brought a smile to everyone’s face, to see that one day after surgery he was doing so well. At Black Lion Hospital there was bad news about the young lady who had come in with difficulty swallowing the first day we arrived. It turned out she had a tumor in her esophagus and would need further evaluation to determine how to proceed. This creates a significant challenge because we must now wait for pathology results from a sample that was taken. This young lady has a long journey ahead of her, and even though we were not able to “cure” her on this trip the surgeons will return and work to treat her condition.

As the day began efforts were being made in order to secure business Visas for the staff to work at Cure Hospital. While that was going on I went to Black Lion Hospital to work with most of the staff in the OR. The day started with an adorable 4 yr old named Omar, who unfortunately had Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP). He was diagnosed in January 2010 and since then he has had 13 surgeries in order to treat his condition. When this young boy was diagnosed he had a history of 4 months of hoarseness that eventually progressed to sever shortness of breath. According physicians at Black Lion this is common. Many children do not have access to doctors and they are only brought to the hospital when their symptoms become life threatening. Many of the children from Black Lion Hospital suffer from RRP and often require tracheotomies because they present at an advanced stage of their disease. The second case was an 8 year old boy who also had RRP. His condition was more severe and required him to have a tracheotomy. Both patients underwent microdebridement  in order to remove the papillomas.   A majority of the papillomas were removed, but both of these young boys will most likely undergo further surgery in the near future. Seeing the children at Black Lion was a sad reminder of how poor access to healthcare has devastated the lives of many young children.  Yet, many of these children still find joy in their lives, and even if they are not able to speak their smiles speak volumes.

Today was a very frustrating day for the group.   We arrived at Cure hospital bright and early ready to see patients and schedule them for operations, but our plans were halted.   We learned that we would not be able to work at Cure hospital, a non-government organization, until all volunteers obtained a Business Visa.   This was a perfect example of politics at work in this country.    It was very disappointing for me and the other volunteers because we came to see patients, and a giant road block was just put in our way.   I quickly stopped feeling sorry for myself when I looked at all the patients who had traveled to Cure Hospital in order to be evaluated by a physician. T  hey would now have to go back home and hope that tomorrow they would be able to see a doctor.   The day was not wasted though, we went over to the Makinissa School for the blind where we saw 50 children who suffer from severe hearing loss.   The facility was started in 1963, with only a few children. Many of these children were abandoned by their families because families believed the child being deaf was a curse. The goal of the school is to teach children and their families sign language, so that students can communicate at school and with their parents or siblings.   The teachers also make a significant effort to address any myths that families might have and educate them.    At the beginning of the day I felt frustrated with the obstacles we were presented with at Cure.   After spending time with these children I am able to appreciate the virtue of patience and smiling even when the world is trying to bring you down.

Today was the first day in Ethiopia for the Philadelphia chapter of Healing the Children.   The first group arrived Friday and the second group arrived early Sunday morning.   Our first stop was Black Lion Hospital, a government owned facility in Addis Ababa.  When we arrived many of the patients were waiting patiently to be seen by the doctors from America.   Most of the children had complaints of hearing loss, pain or discharge.

One young woman stood out because she had not been able to swallow for the past four months.   She was significantly cachectic and required further evaluation in order to determine what was going on.  This was my first reality of how slowly things worked in Addis Ababa. All the lab work this woman needed would take one day to complete, not the usual hour or so I am used to in the states. After the result from her lab work are reviewed a decision will be made about how to proceed. From today, I have learned the importance of being flexible when working in another country. It is important to be able to adapt to a new environment as soon as possible in order to be the most productive.

Medical Team / Staff

Glenn Isaacson, MD/Otolaryngologist
Farrel Buchinsky, MD /HPV Specialist
Winifred Kao-Seda, MD / ENT
Eizabeth Drum, MD/Anesthesiologist
Eileen Tyrala, MD/Pediatrician
Elca Swigart, PhD, Audiologist
Joann Eisenberg, CRNA
Venius Cooper, RN
Uchechi Azubuine, 4th year Temple Med. School
Desi Ferrell, Exec. Director HTC/Philly, administrator

We would like to thank the following Sponsors who donated medical supplies  for this mission.  Without their generosity this trip would have not been possible.

Christ the King School

The Podiatry Institute

Musculoskeletal transplant foundation

Ethicon/MAP

Arthrex

Synthes

Arizona Spine & Joint Hospital Arizona Spine & Joint pharmacy

Banner Hospital Systems

Kimberly Clark (Janyce Hazlett)

3M (Paul Lacey)

Avid Medical (Diane McGowan)

Biogel (Julie Marshall)

Mountain Vista Medical Center

Jacci Ballantyne of SMARTTherapy

Robert Ahrenkiel, DDS

So, we started the day with rounding on patients from the previous day and ensured that everyone was stable and ready to go home.  All was well except for a few cast changes.

The Rotary had a little surprise scheduled for our day of R & R here in El Salvador.  We ventured out for about an hour an a half to Caloca for food, pool time and a tour of the local hot springs.  It was quite an experience and a well needed day of relaxation after a full week of surgery.