Leadership Development -EQ Training

     Jerdain Henry is a twenty year old young adult who was born in Jamaica, West Indies, who has experienced a life-altering experience. When he was only thirteen years old, he was diagnosed with severe idiopathic scoliosis, a severe curvature of the spine. Unlike young patients born in America, who can rely on insurance, Medicaid or Medicare, Jerdain and his family had no means to pay for the costly surgery to straighten his spine. His family had to live with the agony of not being able to help their child. Jerdain had to live with the physical pain in his back for two years and the social stigma of being different from his peers.

     Jerdain was a very active child before his diagnosis. He played soccer and the drums. In November of 2012, his mother realized Jerdain was having difficulties and complaining of discomfort. She realized that something was wrong with his spine. Once he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis, Jerdain was taken to the Spine Clinic at Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where his family learned the extent of his diagnosis and the actual cost of the implants needed for corrective surgery. Sadly, they couldn’t afford the implants for surgery. Jerdain’s family had no health insurance, hence, no way to pay for such an expensive procedure. It was through Dr. Bert Rodney at Cornwall Regional Hospital his family heard about CRH’s partnership with Duncan Tree Foundation and the scoliosis program. Jerdain’s name was added to the surgical waiting list for a donated operation. However, Jerdain had to wait much longer then expected to receive his surgery.

     After the long months of waiting, Jerdain was finally in the next group on the list, unfortunately, an Ebola outbreak occurred in Jamaica and the DTF team had to put a one year pause on their trips. Jerdain had to go through another hard year, waiting for help, as the pain progressed.

      Finally, after an extended wait, the team of doctors arrived in Jamaica. They completed surgery on Jerdain’s group in 2015. Jerdain vividly remembers the day of his surgery. He was not nervous yet very excited. He remembers the people, the sounds, the sights. The last thing he remembers was a doctor telling him he is going to inject something into his hand that would make him feel good. When he woke up, he was in a lot of pain, and the first thing he did was check to make sure everything was working, which he happily concluded, it all was, it was worth the wait.

     Jerdain, the fighter, was the last person to receive the surgery yet the first to be discharged from the hospital, one week later. His whole recovery process after the surgery was rather quick as he had a very positive outlook through it all. After waiting an extra year to get better, he was nothing but motivated to get back on his feet, back on the soccer field and behind the drums. In his own words, Jerdain told us he was never frustrated throughout the physical therapy process. He did everything with a positive outlook as he wanted to go back to being the active person he was before scoliosis.

     Jerdain's doctor told him that he couldn’t go back to lifting heavy things, but he would be able to return to school. Jerdain was able to return to school after a few months of recuperation, and he happily was able to start auto-mechanic class. In December of 2017 Jerdain moved to Florida with his family where they currently reside. Since his surgery in 2015, he was able to make a full recovery and return to doing things he loves. If it weren’t for DTF, Jerdain might still be struggling with un-medicated terminal back pain, deformity and a poor quality of life. His family may or may not have been able to afford the surgery. More than likely not, or they would be struggling to pay back mountains of debt for a costly surgery.

     Please, please, please help other families like Jerdain’s to afford the costly price of spinal surgery so that they too have the chance to have a normal, pain free life.

     Go to https://www.duncantreefoundation.org/donate-now/ to see how your kind donation could help.

Links:

• Take a look at our website

     Have you ever dropped everything and left the country in order to perform a life altering miracle? The majority of us can probably answer no, so let me ask instead; do you know what it would take in order for you to put a pause on your life to help someone who can’t do it alone? What would make you leave your family for days at a time and fly thousands of miles just to try to help? Would it take the prompting of a loved one? Would it be the pull of a sad story you couldn’t say no to? Or would it simply be the asking of a family friend looking for some help just like it was for Dr. Kirk Campbell. 

     Dr. Campbell temporarily put his life on hold and put his heart into the planning of the first ever Duncan Tree Foundation scoliosis mission when a family friend Nickeysha Haughton asked for his help.
     Dr. Campbell is a native of Montego Bay, Jamaica; a proud graduate of Cornwall College High School who completed college courses at UWI.
     He migrated to the United States with a goal of being a medical doctor and completed his Undergraduate degree at the University of Connecticut. He later completed several fellowships including his fellowship at Yale New Haven and The University of Miami. He has had a successful medical career after migrating to the States. He currently serves as a Nephrologist and Professor at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Although he is no longer lives in on the island of Jamaica, it was through those roots and connections that a young Nickeysha reached out asking for his help with her medical condition.
     Nickeysha had severe scoliosis which caused her pain during her daily activity. This made it difficult for her to function like the other fifteen year olds.
     As difficult as it was for her to live through the pain, her family did not have the means to pay for the costly spine surgery, as many families in Jamaica and around the world do not. Nickeysha reached out to Dr. Campbell in hopes he could assist her in some manner, and she was not let down. Through a series of connections through his Cornwall College network, Dr. Campbell was led to Jennifer Chalmers who provided medical support to young people through her organization. Jennifer eventually reached out to Ouida Duncan at Duncan Tree Foundation.

     Campbell soon joined the Board of Advisors at the Duncan Tree Foundation and quickly became a driving force of DTF’s strategy, with Ms. Duncan’s support to shift the organization’s focus from prostate cancer awareness and towards scoliosis awareness, medical mission trips and training of local hospital staff.
     Upon further research, DTF discovered a surgical waiting list exceeding 300 young people at Kingston Public Hospital. Globally there are 210 million people suffering from Scoliosis and approximately 21 million people need surgery. In Jamaica alone there are approximately 89,000 people who have scoliosis, with approximately ten percent of those needing surgery.

     Dr. Campbell’s initial motivation was clear: to help Nickeysha specifically get the help she needed, however, once he participated on the first two trips, he became motivated to help all kids in those difficult situations. In a recent interview, Dr. Campbell stated, “after the surgeries, the kids get such a boost in their self esteem. It’s cool, we get to see them on a path to being productive members of society.” Dr. Campbell mentioned his favorite parts of the trip don’t only include helping the patients, but also helping the medical professionals over there learn more skills they can practice to continue helping the patients after the DTF volunteer team returns home.
     Although it’s been several years since Dr. Campbell participated in a surgical mission trip, he continues to support the goal of the organization and aids in the success of children like Nickeysha through spreading the word, conducting outreach activities, donating, fund-raising and attending events.

Opportunities to use your skills to help don’t always fall into one’s lap as they did with Dr. Campbell, but the question is, what will you do if one falls into yours? If you’re ready to help us perform miracles more we’re looking for you.

To donate today to help kids like Nickeysha, go to: https://www.duncantreefoundation.org/donate-now/

$30 Pays for two meals for 1 surgical volunteer
$68 Assists with airport transfers for volunteers
$95 Helps cover registration fee for credentialing medical volunteer
$125 Funds postoperative and rehabilitating costs
$250 Local accommodations for 2 volunteers

Every dollar helps!

Links:

• Watch a video from a recent trip to Davao City, Philippines.
• Visit our website for more information on ways to help.