*PRESLI GOT SURGERY!!
Thanks to the generous donation of time and talents of the Rotaplast International medical team, Presli got his first intervention today in LaOroya!!
Presli arrived at the clinic in La Oroya, accompanied by Ely, the social worker and the director of the orphanage. What an entourage. We did not know that the director would be going with them. Nor did we know that he is a medical doctor! He was able to do the paperwork necessary to be a part of the surgical team. As of yet, we don’t know if it actually happened that way, but how cool is that?
Unfortunately, when Presli made the trip, he had a cough. This resulted in a delay. They waited a few days for him to get over it, but in the meantime he developed an infection. Another delay. As a result of these two setbacks, he has been in the clinic much longer than his court-approved 7 days, so it was providence that the director of the orphanage made the trip with him afterall. As the custodian of record, he could authorize the extension without a judge’s approval.
While Presli was recovering from his health issues, he had a really great time! He shared a hospital room with two other boys, both being treated for deformities. Since most of the patients are treated for cleft palate and other birth defects, Presli was not the only person there who looked different. In fact, he probably felt more comfortable among the other patients than he does in his current home. Ely reported that they played outside, goofed off and even did a little production for the families. He must have had a blast. We are so happy for him. It must have been great to be surrounded by people who saw Presli the boy and not Presli the “monster,” as some of his orphanage siblings still call him.
Due to the earthquake earlier this week, we have been unable to communicate with Ely yet. We did, however, receive a message from Dr. C that the hospital felt the effects of the temblor, but did not suffer any damage in the facility (see below of an excerpt of a letter to him from staff in Peru).
We would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank You” to all of you who have supported our dream and who have helped to make this day come to pass for Presli!
This is only the beginning for him, but we are just so pleased we could get this far so fast! Through luck, hard work and continual support from all of you, his future is looking brighter already!
Most of all, we would like to congratulate Elizabeth Chichilla, our “funcionaria” in Peru for her hard work and dedication to this cause. Ely has spent EIGHT MONTHS attending to the minutiae of red tape and meetings to make this a reality. She met with lawyers, judges, social workers, filled out paperwork, scanned documents for the medical team and spent hours with Presli preparing him for this procedure.
Staying the course through the transition from Sr. Almonacid as Director of Aldea del Rosario, through a temporary director and finally getting the new director up to speed, Ely has worked tirelessly, depsite running her own charity in another city! And she did it all for love.
Ely, te agradescemos muchisimo. Sin ti, no hay PeruDonations Corporation. En ti tenemos toda la fe y un oceano de cariño.
*The “One Life at a Time” Benefit concert is officially on! September 1 at Don Ho’s Island Grill at the Aloha Tower Marketplace in Honoulu, HI, PeruDonations will join The 808 Scene Zine at a party to close out the summer! Four bands, including Missing Dave, Grand Theft Audio, Pimpbot and Max Murdoch & the Northern Soul Project will entertain you from 9:30 until the bar kicks us out at 2! Opening the show will be a capoeira demo by Capoeria Besouro Hawaii, and DJ Mano Lopez will keep the party going between set with his own collection of Latino rythms.
* Also, that night will celebrate the release our first compilation benefit CD, produced by Pass Out Records, entitled “One Life at a Time”. Seems like a running theme…
Check in often to see how you, too, can own this priceless treasure!
* Merardo turned 16 last month! With donations from our supporters, we were able to get him an orthopedic mattress and pillow (so that he no longer has to sleep on the bare ground), some books, refills for his medical supplies and even a get a Birthday cake! It’s true, a small amount of dollars sure goes a long way in Peru.
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS, MERARDO!
* We were contacted several months ago by a teacher from the East Coast who was considering a one-month stay in Peru, working at Ely and Nilton’s school program. Karen Doolittle did a bit more than that! She was gracious enough to purchase and hand deliver vitamins, protein powder and some medical supplies to Merardo. While she was there, she experienced quite an adventure, arriving in country to find her luggage lost and a country-wide transportation strike! Welcome to Peru!
Thankfully, her delay was short and she safely arrived in Chupaca to face a teacher’s strike, a farmer’s strike and clashes with police in the city square. Must be July in Peru! She soon acclimated (both to the political and seasonal) environment and went to work. Her month with PLE has ended and she is traveling more of Peru before returning to the US. Karen, thank you for going to help out our friends at PLE. We enjoyed the pictures of the parade and the view from the house. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. Thank you also for getting those supplies to Mr. Merardo. We hope you will return soon! See her blog for more details of her adventures.
*Here is the letter from Tom Fox (in La Oroya) to Dr. Capozzi:
“Well, things are constantly changing aren’t they. As I write, Presli, our burn patient, is having surgery. Hal Rosenfield is the primary surgeon. At the end of Wednesday, we had operated on 87 patients and completed about 150 procedures….Regarding the earthquake, we definitely felt it as a very long roll from side to side rather than up and down. No damage here that we know of, but part of the road between here and Lima has large rocks that need to be removed before travel. Hopefully, it will be open by Saturday pm when we travel to Lima. We have not heard anything about the status of the airports or flights.”
KUDOS to Rotaplast International, Inc. for making this all possible, not just for Presli, but for the hundreds of families you served during you short stay in Peru. We know your efforts and your caring smiles will not soon be forgotten, nor will the effects of your mission.
