Leadership Development -EQ Training

It has been a busy 2015 for the Duncan Tree Foundation as we completed two successful volunteer mission trips.  The first took a team of seven volunteers to Davao City, Philippines, where five transformational spine surgeries were completed.  Led by orthopedic surgeon and DTF Board Vice President, Dr. Kenneth Paonessa, and DTF Founder and President, Ms. Ouida Duncan, the team spent one week in April providing much needed care to pediatric patients.

"These were two of the most challenging yet successful trips to date," said DTF Founder and President, Ouida Duncan.  "When working internationally, it is very difficult to streamline logistics and to assess patient data.  In spite of the challenges, we are able to successfully partner with our local counterparts and made a powerful impact."

Just a few short weeks later, Dr. Paonessa, Ms. Duncan, and the team hit the road again, this time to Jamaica.  Assisted by orthopedic surgeon, Dr. W. Fred Hess, the team completed nine additional surgeries.  This trip also made significant progress in the development and training of local medical professionals.  A major player in this education program is DTF corporate sponsor, Biotronic.  The company is helping to train Jamaica’s first neuromonitor, a technician tasked with monitoring nerve response of patients during surgery. 

Duncan Tree Foundation would like to thank corporate sponsor, Medtronic, for their continued support of our mission.  We also would like to thank Surgix for their role in making these trips a success.

With all that we have accomplished this year, there are still thousands of patients in need of DTF services.  We are thrilled to announce that the DTF Volunteer Team will return to Jamaica in November to provide free spine surgery to several pediatric patients.  Please continue to support our mission by making your tax-deductible contribution today  Donate now!

To support the work of the Foundation, DTF kicked off the year with a Spring Mixer, a social gathering in New York City.  With more than 50 guests in attendance, the event raised over $4,000 and reaffirmed the growing support system within the New York Metropolitan area.  Additionally, DTF hired its first part-time employee.  Meghan Wood was named Associate Director of Development and will work closely with the DTF Board of Directors to expand the reach of the Foundation and to heighten fundraising efforts across the globe.

Thank you for your continued support of our work to provide free scoliosis surgery to patients in need.  To learn more about Duncan Tree Foundation, please visit us at www.dtf.org.

Links:

• Visit us on the web

Out with the old and in with the new is the usual saying. This New Year, many are ready to take everything that they’ve learned from the past year and apply their new found wisdom to the New Year, as they should. But one great tradition within the Duncan Tree Foundation (DTF) family is reflection. In order to go into to 2015 with a bang, we reflect on how 2014 was great and why it is important to our future endeavors!

There are many highlights and goals that we have accomplished within 2014 that we are so very proud of. To list some of them, we embarked on our Scoliosis mission trip to the Philippines in March and Jamaica in May; we hosted a fundraiser at the Philippine house in April; we received an award from the HoSang Family Foundation for outstanding community service  in June. These are a few of the many that we’re extremely proud of.

One of our most memorable and exciting achievements of 2014 would have to be providing free Scoliosis surgery on 10 patients located in Jamaica at Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) in May. Lance Russell is one out of the ten who have shared his appreciation for DTF, four years ago, at seventeen years old, Russell learned he had the Scoliosis after trying to enlist into the Jamaican Army and being denied due to his condition. Russell and his mother turned to KPH for consultancy on how he could get help for his condition. They found out that not only was the proper surgery financially straining ($10,000 Jamaican Dollars), but the waiting list in which he was going to be out on would leave him at patient number 70 back in 2009, the end of a long list filled with patients of urgent need. Unable to afford implants and surgical care, Russell stopped seeking medical treatment from doctors for 4 years. In early 2014, Russell learned about the DTF through Dr. Ian Neil, an orthopedic surgeon at KPH. Upon completing all necessary paperwork in April, he was able to have his life changing surgery in May. Within 48 hours of having complex spine surgery, Lance was able to walk. Forever a changed man, Lance, with the help of physiotherapy every two weeks along with good follow-up care in the clinic at KPH, Lance can now do numerous activities like standing and riding a bike, much better than before.   Russell is now 22 years old and is enjoying life with family and appreciating his ability to take advantage of the small things in everyday life, something he was not always able to do before his scoliosis surgery.

For 2015, the DTF has various upcoming plans and events. We plan to host a fundraiser in Connecticut early 2015; we will be embarking on another mission trip to Philippines from April 11th through the April 18th; we also plan to embark on a sixth and seventh mission trip to Jamaica, in the Spring and Fall of 2015.

As we reflect on the past year and look forward to what is to come for 2015, DTF is grateful for the opportunities that we have had to serve the community. With love and grace we hope for a prosperous journey, and are very appreciative for our Global Giving family and supporters.

We rely on your continued support for our Global Giving partners to help bring costly implants, spinal cord monitoring and gold standard surgeries to under-served children in Jamaica and the Philippines who live less productive lives without corrective spine surgeries.

For more information about Duncan Tree Foundation, please visit our web site at www.duncantreefoundation.org.

Links:

• DTF web site
• Jamaica Observer All Woman Article
• DTF visits SPMC in Davao City, Philippines