photos - plastic surgery cases - part 1

Widmiya Luc is a 12 year old girl who was scalded by boiling water from a pot that spilled onto her trunk area. Itchy keloid scar tissue grew over the burnt areas of skin. Hopefully the plastic surgery team can treat this problem.

This is a close-up of the scar tissue.

Rose Sthergelie Sobia is now a 2 month old baby who was born with a cleft lip. We are hoping that she too will be able to have this defect surgically repaired.

Jimmy Jean is a 7 year old boy who suffered burns to his head and upper arm when battery acid fell on him. The scar tissue over his shoulder area is quite tight and needs to be released by surgery to improve his mobility.

His ear was completely burned off. He can still hear though. I don't know if there is such a thing as an artificial ear that can be created for him.

photos - plastic surgery cases - part 2

Emerson Simplice was born with a severe cleft lip and palette. He traveled last year to the United States to have them repaired. He needs some further work on his eyelid. Maybe the surgical team will be able to help him with this.

Yvenson Joseph was born with a cleft lip and palette. He is now 3 months old. Maybe he can be helped as well.

Michkardel Poutout is a 2 year old girl who has a contracture on the upper part of her foot caused by necrotic tissue from an iv when she was hospitalized as an infant.

She needs plastic surgery on the scar tissue.

Samuel Jean is now 13 months old. He needs surgery to repair his cleft lip.

photos - plastic surgery cases + students studying

Jameson Glezile is an 11 year old boy who is part of our school program here at Coram Deo. He had surgery to repair his cleft lip in January 2008. Now he hopefully will get his cleft palate repaired by the plastic surgery team.

This young boy and his mother came all the way from the mountains of Kenscoff to seek medical care. He has a secondary skin infection caused by scabies which is a bug that lives under the skin. Hopefully the medicine he received will cure the infection and the scabies. We also treated him and his family for worms. The family left their home at 4 in the morning to start their travel to get to Coram Deo.

Lourdie Aldor is a girl that we helped a couple of years ago get surgery to amputate her leg because of a tumor on her knee. She now walks again with a prothesis. We recently made a visit to her family's home. Lourdie is standing on her father's left.

Paulna and some of her classmates are preparing for exams with their teacher Erismane Dorelus. Erismane (Mackenson) is the teacher of the Grade 5 class at a local mission school. Our facilities are used after hours by students and teachers for homework and tutoring. We give the Lord thanks that we are able to help other missions and students out besides our own here at Coram Deo.

Jn. Eddy is going over some math problems with some other secondary students.

photos - new invertor and batteries

These are our 12 new batteries and new invertor in place and working! It's great to have lights on in the house at night again!

The solar panels are back in place now and generating solar power on sunny days.

Reginald was eager to help move the heavy batteries into the house. The children were excited that we were getting an invertor!

The technicians who came to install the batteries, invertor and solar panels did a great job and we are thankful to those who made this possible.

haiti update - november 29, 2008

“ Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

Hi! This week we got word that a medical team from the Kentucky area will be coming to Haiti with doctors and nurses. They want to hold a clinic here at Coram Deo on December 5th and are willing to see 200 patients. The people in the community enjoy these clinics and are thankful for the medical care they receive.
We are also preparing for the plastic surgery team that is coming to Haiti from December 18th to 22nd to do cleft lip/palette and other surgeries at Hopital La Paix, located on Delmas 33. Project Medishare will be coordinating the surgeries. We will help in providing meals in the morning and evening again. I am going to help Maggy with translating as well between the patients and the medical team. We have 8 children on our list who need plastic surgery care and hopefully some or all of them can be helped. We give the Lord thanks for medical teams who come to Haiti to help in this way. Otherwise these patients would do without care. Pray for all the plans being made for the upcoming clinic day here at Coram Deo and for the upcoming plastic surgeries at Hopital La Paix.
Francisco of Smile Train will also be visiting Haiti this week to do more planning for “Operation Cleft Free Haiti”. Pray he will have a productive week.
Vanessa Jules and her mother returned to Fond Verettes and Guerdson Delile and his mother returned to Jeremie. Pray that they continue to be in good health and don’t develop any problems.
Chrisno Jeudi is doing well with his host family in Virginia. He continues to get physical therapy every day. If all goes well he will be returning to Haiti sometime in December. Continue to pray for the efforts of his host family. Recently there was a newspaper article written about Chrisno and his host family. If you would like to read this article the link to this article is: www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/haitian_boy_on_road_to_recovery_with_danville_family/7390
We had a visit this week from a family who came from the mountain area in Kenscoff seeking medical care. The boy had a secondary skin infection caused by scabies. We had medicine that we could send along with his family to treat this infection as well as worms and scabies. Pray this medicine helps him.
The Diabetes association in Haiti (FHADIMAC – Fondation Haitienne de Diabete et de Maladies Cardio-vasculaires) just held an information day. They reported that the incidence of diabetes is increasing in Haiti. They say this increase is caused by stress, lack of physical activity and influenced by the insecurity and bad eating habits of the population. A report from the study that they held in 2006 shows that in the Port-au-Prince region 7% of the population over the age of 20 develop diabetes. The incidence of diabetes in persons over the age of 60 is 15% and this percentile increases each year based on the increase in age. Out of 35 children who were hospitalized at the state General Hospital 19 died because of a lack of insulin that the parents couldn’t afford to buy. It would be good if one day a program can be established to help those who can’t afford to buy insulin much like the HIV/AIDS programs here in Haiti that is currently in place. This HIV/AIDS program is what is keeping one of our employees, Lukner alive. He receives free anti retro-viral therapy. Pray that a program like this can one day be set up for the treatment of diabetes.
The students are preparing for the first semester exams. This morning Jn. Eddy and a few other secondary student friends of his were going over math problems on one of the chalkboards. At the other table Paulna and some of her classmates were reviewing and preparing for upcoming exams with their teacher, Erismane Dorelus. He used to be a teacher here at Coram Deo of the Grade 5 class before the school program was transferred to another mission. He continues as the Grade 5 teacher at the other mission school. Teachers and students from this mission school continue to use the Coram Deo facilities for tutoring and homework help. We give the Lord thanks that we are able to help out in this way. It is good to see enthusiastic students studying to get good grades!
There has been quite a few things going on in the Delmas 31 area. On Sunday afternoon Lukner called and asked me to come with the pick-up truck to bring a woman to hospital who had just been burned. A food vendor who sells fried food had taken a hot pot of oil off the fire and had set it on a chair. She got busy with other things and then forgot she had left the pot on the chair. She sat down again and ended up burning her butt. She sure got up in a hurry again! The burns weren’t too serious but we brought her to the Medecins Sans Frontieres Hospital. When she got out of the pickup truck I told the attendant at the hospital that she had burned her backside but he didn’t care and made her sit in the wheelchair anyway. It will be a little while before sitting down will be comfortable for this food vendor!
Thievery is always a problem around here. Late Tuesday night thieves used a pry bar to break into the lottery booth that is across the street from Coram Deo. The thieves stole the cash box and left behind a broken door. It’s a good thing the barbed wire is on our walls!
Mackenson of the Judas Gang is still in the area. Just recently he went to support a gang friend of his in an altercation. The gun he carried under his shirt was used to intimidate the other person. I still pray for Mackenson to change his heart but he still continues to fall further in his walk against God. He spent several of his earlier years growing up in a Christian orphanage.
Taking revenge is also the common thing to do here in Haiti. The boyfriend of a young woman hit the mother of his child. She in return took revenge by finding someone to kill him. He got injured and now the woman is in jail for arranging to kill her boyfriend. A nephew and uncle also had an altercation. The nephew got angry with the uncle and stabbed him and the uncle took revenge a few days later by hitting the nephew on the back with a blow from his machete. These incidents all happened in the Cite Jeremie area of Delmas 31. These people need to read the passage from Romans 12:19 that refers to revenge!
That’s all the news for today. Have a good weekend!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo

photos - evangelization - medical clinic

Before the clinic began we opened up with prayer. 2 evangelists from Christian Light Mission run by Sheri Fausey addressed the spiritual health of the patients while they waited to be seen.

Francois, the gatekeeper here at Coram Deo handed out bible tracts to patients as they left.

This young man was eager to share his faith with the waiting people.

This young man too shared the gospel message with the people in the waiting area.

Francois always brings his bible to work with him. During quiet times he can usually be seen studying his bible.

photos - medical clinic - part 1

The first station is the waiting area. Patients wait on benches until their number is called.

Their names and medical information are written on a form and then they wait on a bench to see the doctor.

Our school teachers assisted in registering patients and helped with translating at the registration table.

After seeing the doctor the patient brings the prescription to the pharmacy station.

Dr. Karen McCarthey is from Jacksonville, Florida. We are thankful that her team was willing to do a clinic at Coram Deo for people living in our community. The people who benefited from the clinic were grateful for the assistance that they received.

photos - medical clinic - part 2

The medical team came with all kinds of medicines.

A translator explains how to take the medicine to the patient.

This boy has a head fungus and is getting a "selsun blue" shampoo treatment to treat the fungus.

These 3 children are all sisters.

Here are the 3 sisters getting ready to leave with their medicine after seeing the doctor.

photos - medical clinic - part 3

A parent of one of the school children told me about a neighbor with medical problems. I told her to bring this lady to the clinic so that she could see a doctor.

This lady has untreated diabetes as well as high blood pressure. Several of the adults who came to the clinic had high blood pressure and needed medication.

The untreated diabetes is resulting in her foot getting severely infected. This lady has already lost some toes and will need to have her foot amputated.

The father standing beside this girl carried her to the clinic. She had an operation in 2006 for what probably was some kind of abdominal tumor.

The tumor has grown back with a vengeance. Her right leg has been paralyzed for the last couple of weeks because the tumor is pressing on a nerve. This is why she can no longer walk. This is a sad case as well.

photos - medical clinic - part 4

This mother dressed up her baby girl in her Sunday best to come to the clinic!

There are quite a few fevers going around right now.

This elderly lady was happy to get some medical care.

This young girl is waiting her turn to get registered to see the doctor.

This boy has some skin problems.

photos - medical clinic - part 5

This mother and her son are waiting to be registered.

Davidson Francois is a hydrocephalus child that never qualifies for surgery because of a cough. He was able to see the doctor and get some antibiotics. There is a possibility that he has tuberculosis. Pray we can find out what is causing his coughs.

This baby will hopefully be part of the "Operation Cleft Free Haiti" Project.

Vanessa Jules had a post-surgery check-up. She had surgery for her hydrocephalus last week and is doing well.

David Lazarre is a 2-month-old baby who was born with an already developed hydrocephalus. He was delivered caesarean section.

haiti update - november 22, 2008

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” Psalm 68:19

Hi! This week was a busy week with the medical program. The neurosurgery team from the University of Miami left on Sunday morning. The week was busy bringing food to the hospital in the mornings and afternoons. Unfortunately a couple of the children died during this post-op process. We brought both of them to the morgue at General Hospital. Widmirta Mervil died early Tuesday morning. She had been suffering with infection and malnutrition since her first surgery in May 2007. I was hoping that after the shunt was removed last Saturday that she would be able to overcome the infection but she wasn’t able to do so. She is now with the Lord. Early Tuesday evening Shelove Brelus died. This baby was born with hydrocephalus and was delivered by caesarean section. The mother is only 17 years old. The doctors didn’t think that she would survive as her brain never developed properly in the womb but they still performed surgery to relieve pressure on her brain. When her baby died the mother didn’t know what to do. She is from the Cabaret region, which suffered flooding during the tropical storms in August, and she didn’t want to return home. She told me that people would accuse her of killing her child. We talked with her and explained to her that her baby was born with a lot of problems and that the doctor knew she would die. We told her that her child is now in heaven with the Lord and that she is suffering no more. After a while she settled down and we brought her to where she could get a tap-tap to go back to Cabaret.
Some of the children had fevers but by the end of the week all the children were discharged from the hospital. This morning we were busy driving the parents and babies to their homes or to their tap-tap stations. We have a couple of the children staying here at Coram Deo. Guerdson Delile and his mother is from Jeremie and we want to make sure the incision site is healed before they return home as Jeremie is quite a distance away. Vanessa Jules and her mother are from Fond Verrettes and they will need to make a bumpy voyage over some bad roads. We figured it would be best for her to wait another week here. Continue to pray for healing mercies for the children who are recovering from surgery.
A new hydrocephalus case came to the house this week. David Lazarre is 2 months old and he was born with hydrocephalus and was also delivered caesarean section. His head is already very large. We will register him at Healing Hands but it will be another six months before the next round of surgeries. Keep David and his mother in prayer. It is difficult for a mother to watch her baby’s head get larger and being uncomfortable with the increased pressure on the brain.
In December, Smile Train will be going out to Hopital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles to do training for cleft lips/palettes. Their “Operation Cleft Free Haiti” project is ready to launch and they will be pursuing their goal of providing surgeries for everybody born in Haiti with cleft lips/palettes. It is great to be a part of this project. We have several children on our list who will be able to be helped. Maybe one day the hydrocephalus program can develop in this way too. Please keep “Operation Cleft Free Haiti” in prayer.
Friday was a day of blessings! The first blessing was in the morning when Dr. Karen McCarthey came with a medical team to do a clinic here at Coram Deo. They saw 75 patients (from babies to the elderly) and were able to provide them with medications as well. A couple of evangelists shared the word of God with the patients as they were waiting to see the doctor. Francois, the gatekeeper handed out some evangelical tracts to the patients as they left.
There were a couple of difficult cases that came to the clinic. One lady has untreated diabetes and high blood pressure. She has already lost a few toes and her foot will need to be amputated. She was started on medication to treat her diabetes and high blood pressure. We are going to follow-up with her and try to help her find medical care to amputate her foot. A father carried his teen-age daughter in order to come to the clinic. In 2006 she had had a surgery at a hospital in Cite Soleil to remove a tumor in her abdomen. Since that time it has grown back quickly. We are going to ask the Bitars at Bernard Mevs Hospital what can be done to help her. Keep these 2 patients in prayer as we search for what is God’s will for them.
The second blessing was when the electrician came over with 12 batteries and an invertor. We now don’t have to rely on the electric company for our power and I don’t have to work in the middle of the night to work on the computer. It’s also nice to have lights at night too. I took the remaining 6 solar panels out of protection in my room and gave them to the electrician to put back in place. Now we can generate solar power as well. With the barbed wire on all the walls the panels should be much safer on the roof now. Thanks to those who made this possible.
The third blessing was eating supper at Fabrizio’s, which is an Italian restaurant. We had a meeting there with Angel Missions personnel. Pizza is a nice change from beans and rice!
“Nerette Syndrome” is the name being given to students who are panicking that their schools will collapse. This week there was once again another incident at a school in Port-au-Prince located on Clercine 12. Saint Paul Villa Huguens is a 5-story school with a large student enrolment. On Wednesday morning the students felt a tremble and a panic driven stampede to exit the school resulted. 1 student died and 26 were injured in the rush to escape. We were busy driving around Wednesday and when we got home Pastor Octave met us at the gate and asked if we could drive him over to Hopital La Paix on Delmas 33. He told me about one of his church members whose daughter was in hospital as a result of this stampede. We drove over to the hospital and there was a list of 16 names posted at the entrance of the hospital. This was a list of the injured that were brought in. The teen-age girl had been pushed from the 2nd story by stampeding students. Both her legs had been injured. Another girl we spoke with had been pushed from the 3rd story. 15 of the children in the hospital were girls. It was a fight for survival scramble down the stairwells and the stronger pushed the weaker out of the way. This is why there were not many males injured. The students we talked with all mentioned the tremor they felt. Later we found out that a large passing truck caused the tremor. Everybody in Port-au-Prince can see the shoddy construction of some buildings and students are nervous.
Hunger is becoming a big problem in Haiti especially in outlying areas. In a village called Baie d’Orange, which is in the southwest area of the country 26 children recently died of starvation. Another 50 are seriously malnourished and are being treated in malnutrition centers. Pastor Pierre told me of a village that he knows where people are eating once every three days. Mothers are boiling water and adding salt to it and feeding this soup to their children because there is nothing else to give them. We are planning to make a visit to this village but it will mean a 6-hour walk by foot over a mountain area in Kenscoff to get there. There are no roads to this village. We’ll have to stay overnight somewhere. Pray for the hungry living in Haiti.
November 18th was a holiday in Haiti to commemorate the Battle of Vertierres, which led to the independence of Hait in 1804. President Preval spoke and said that he hopes that the UN (MINUSTAH ) will be out of Haiti by the time his term ends in 2011.
That’s all the news for today. Have a good weekend!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo

photos - bernard mevs hospital

This is the front gate at Bernard Mevs Hospital which is located in Village Solidarite off of Airport Road.

This is what the street looks like running in front of the hospital. It is a busy place!

All the children and parents were processed and told when their operating days would be. It was a challenging first day!

The children were admitted to the pediatrics room of the hospital which is sponsored by Food for the Poor.

There was not much room in between beds but everything worked out well. It was great that the Bitar brothers who run the hospital helped make these surgeries possible because of the ongoing strike at Hopital La Paix.