Physical Health Nicaragua Project #9564

Provide Surgical Supplies for Needy in Nicaragua

by Surgeons of Hope Foundation, Inc.

Project Report | May 21, 2012
Thank You All for Our Success

By Leila Hawken | Executive Assistant, Surgeons of Hope Foundation

Little Camila (2) with her mother

Thanks to our donors over the past several months, we have met (and even exceeded by a little) our goal for this project. Surgeons of Hope will be able to provide a large supply of Sodium Nitroprusside to La Mascota Children's Hospital in Managua to benefit the infants and children emerging from delicate heart surgery.

A few months ago, we were able to send a partial shipment in answer to the emergency need, and now we have given our volunteer Director of Medical Supplies the go-ahead to purchase the rest. Thanks to you, our volunteer medical team from Children's Hospital of Colorado will be able to transport a large amount of this medicine to use in their own surgical mission in July, and then they will leave the generous remainder for the hospital's use after they leave. Incidentally, our July mission will coincide with the 30th anniversary of La Mascota Children's Hospital. That is one hospital that has made a lot of progress. The beauty is that their healing spirit is evidenced by how they have embraced our program and the training we provide. It's not only what we bring, it's what we leave behind.

Because our Global Giving goal of $1,300 was exceeded by a little (we actually collected $115 extra), we will use the extra to round out the nitroprusside order to an extra vial or two, and if anything else remains, we will use it toward other medicines in the order. Every dollar will be put to good, life-saving medical use.

In a week or two, we will post a new project on Global Giving. In the meantime, our major project is still accepting donations, "Healing Children's Hearts in Nicaragua and Haiti". This project also benefits our program at La Mascota Children's Hospital, so donations can continue to help those needy children. So, keep watching us in the Global Giving listings. We appreciate your interest in what we are doing in Nicaragua.

As a parting gift, we don't really have a photo representing sodium nitroprusside to share with you, so instead I will share a photo of a little girl, Camila, (2), who will be coming to NYC for a heart operation soon, sponsored by Surgeons of Hope (her condition cannot wait for our mission to Managua in July). I am also sharing a copy of a former patient giving a "thumbs up" following her successful operation at the hands of volunteer Surgeons of Hope surgeons.

In gratitude, "thumbs up" to you donors; "thumbs up" to Surgeons of Hope; and "thumbs up" to Global Giving.

Surgeons of Hope Gets Thumbs Up

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May 3, 2012
Honor Your Mother by Helping a Hospital

By Leila Hawken | Executive Assistant, Surgeons of Hope Foundation

Little girl with mother, successful surgery

Mother's Day is May 13. We offer a way to honor her or remember her in a special way this year. Why not give a gift in remembrance of mother's generosity? At the same time, you will be helping to overcome gaps in access to health care and medicines in today's world.

Thanks to Global Giving, you can make a donation in your mother's name to our project to provide much-needed emergency surgical medicine to La Mascota Children's Hospital in Managua, Nicaragua. Global Giving offers e-cards and print-at-home cards, making your donation to Surgeons of Hope the perfect Mother's Day gift. Contribute to our project by using this link which will take you directly to the spot where you select your card:

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/life-saving-surgical-supplies-for-50-in-nicaragua/?show=gift

We are very close to our project goal on this project, thanks to the generosity of our Global Giving community and their understanding of how very necessary this medicine is in an emergency situation of a spike in blood pressure which can occur following open-heart surgery in an infant or child. A supply of nitroprusside is essential to bring the little patient's blood pressure under control so that healing can occur.

Please help us to reach our goal (we are only $140 away) and celebrate your mother's care at the same time. The sweet little girl whose photo accompanies this report was operated upon in Nicaragua by our all-volunteer medical team from Children's Hospital of Colorado. A few days later she was back with her family, and is continuing to thrive today. If she could say "Gracias" in person, she would.

Please give to our Mother's Day effort through Global Giving and spread the word to your friends and communities. We are a small organization, so your help will help.

SoH Pres. da Cruz, Volunteer Cardiologist

Hand in hand following surgery

Links:

Get more information on our website

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Mar 8, 2012
GlobalGiving's Day of Matching Donations March 14

By Leila Hawken | Executive Assistant, Surgeons of Hope Foundation

GlobalGiving Will Match Your Donation on March 14!

The walls are going up on the new Pediatric Heart Center of Nicaragua and Surgeons of Hope is turning our attention to finding the sophisticated modern medical equipment and supplies to make the new Center function as an extraordinary, state-of-the-art facility. Our next surgical missions for 2012 are being assembled as training elements continue, all timed to be ready for the Center’s grand opening in early 2013. It is a lot of work for a small foundation. You have contributed in the past year by helping to bring a supply of Nitroprusside to the poor young children who patiently await help from our surgeons, teamed with the local medical staff at La Mascota Children’s Hospital in Managua. Our project is answering an urgent call for this medicine. How important your help has been to us and to the children. Nitroprusside is not always needed, but when the emergency need occurs after the open-heart operation, it will help to save the child's life.

Every step we take contributes toward the realization of the success of the new Heart Center as a surgical and learning center for the region. The children we have helped and that you have helped will be invited to join with us to celebrate the opening of this new era in pediatric cardiac care in Central America. And when the new hospital opens, we need to be sure that the medical supplies are in place.

On Wednesday, March 14, GlobalGiving.org is matching at 30% all online donations up to $1,000 per donor per project! $50,000 is available in matching funds, but only on March 14. Once these matching funds are used, no more matching funds will be applied. Therefore, if you intend to give, please plan to give early in the day, The Bonus Day offer begins at 12:01 AM on March 14 and continues all day, until the matching funds run out. In addition to the 30% match, GlobalGiving is offering a $1,000 bonus to the project that raises the most funds that day and a $1,000 bonus to the project that receives donations from the most individual donors!

Please donate to our project, Provide Surgical Supplies for Needy in Nicaragua, and support the children awaiting heart surgery! Your help is urgently needed and much appreciated by Surgeons of Hope and by the children we help!

Links:

Learn more at our website

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