Surgery

Up at 4 AM to get the bus. We're taking the public air-conditioned bus to PAP. Costs just $10 US. This is a first for us and we're glad to learn how it works. Amoce knows the driver so he came to our house to pick us up, then we went to the bus station at the rotary. We arrived before 5 AM and waited there (with the engine running) till 6 AM while the bus filled up. Women were selling bags of cashews, men were selling phone cards (minutes) and one woman began sweeping the street with a hand-broom.[singlepic id=66 w=320 h=240 float=right]

[singlepic id=58 w=320 h=240 float=left]Little two and a half year old Judeline came to see us in Nan Doti with her mother.  She has a congenital deformity of the left hand, right foot and leg.  She's a real cutie who managed to run around very well despite the fact that her right foot faces backwards.    Bob Myers and Mark Bigda evaluated her and determined that it appears she actually has all of the finger and toe bones, and that her leg is relatively normal from just below the knee.  We came back from Haiti with the intention of trying to find a surgeon who would do corrective surgery.

The last time I posted about Yanie Dominique's broken hip we had heard back from Dr. Nelson.  He recognized that she needed a total hip replacement.  He has referred us to another orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mehne.  We are in contact with him now and will be working toward getting Yanie to the Dominican Republic for surgery in late October.  There are many, many things to arrange if that is going to happen including a passport for her and her translator.  Dr.