Provide medical care to Haitian orphans

When The Red Thread team sees the faintest glimmer of hope to improve the life of a child with a disability, we JUMP! Each child is treated as if they are our own. We explore every option imaginable, even if it means coming to Haiti to accompany two blind boys to the ophthalmologist.

So that’s just what we did. This past Thursday, Sonya took two St. Vincent’s students—Frenel and Geraldo—to see one of the most highly regarded ophthalmologists in Haiti. 

The testing process was very thorough, allowing the doctor to see the tiniest details of each boy’s eyes to help determine if either would be eligible for further treatment to restore any bit of sight.

Geraldo, having been blinded within the past two years due to head trauma, sustained detaching of both retinas. The doctor was able to drain the blood from the front of the eyes to more clearly view the retinas and assess the damage. The amazingly detailed photos showed the scar tissue and irreparable folding of the retina. The conclusion: there is nothing more that can be done. Not the news we had hoped to hear.

 However, the news with Frenel was quite different. An illness at the tender age of three took away the majority of his sight, leaving him only the ability to distinguish color and light sources. After a sonogram on his eye, the doctor offered a glimmer of hope for this child. While his left eye is completely lost from the sickness he sustained, his right eye may be operable. 

The doctor explained two very different procedures that might be an option for Frenel, following the results of one additional test that will be performed at a later date. Both surgeries present serious risk factors that need to be considered before any course of action is decided upon, discussions that will involve the surgeon, Frenel’s mother, St. Vincent’s, and The Red Thread.

At the conclusion of the appointment, Sonya had the opportunity to speak with the doctor about The Red Thread’s care for these boys. She explained that we treat each child as though they are our own flesh and blood, doing everything we can to improve their health and wellbeing. She clarified that we would seek specialists in Haiti to perform any recommended procedures, and, only when all in-country options have been exhausted, would we put a child through the potential trauma international travel for treatment. 

With this reassurance, he smiled broadly, and shook Sonya’s hand.

Links:

• The full story on Frenel & Geraldo