Healing The Children

BY CHRISTINE REDMAN-WALDEYER

Physician poet, Williams Carlos Williams wrote in his poem, The Red Wheelbarrow, “so much depends/upon/a red wheel/barrow/glazed with rain/water/beside the white/chickens.”

The Rutherford, NJ born pediatrician and general practitioner so often captured beauty in few words. It is that knee-jerk reaction, involuntary and sudden, that we take notice of the transcendental meaning of life. There are those that pause long enough to see the red wheelbarrow and others who do much more than pause.

Those such as Evelyn Dudziec who, in 1981, founded Healing the Children N J, a non-profit organization that provides free medical care to both American and foreign children. Although she retired as the Executive Director after serving for 26 years to put her energy into developing Katie’s House in 2007(an organization that provides Independent Housing, Activities and Services to people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) Healing the Children NJ continues to serve both nationally and internationally, with the help of partners that come together that make all the wheels of the machine run smoothly.

Healing the Children NJ’s program, International Inbound, one of three major programs, helps children who do not have access to medical care in their country to get the care they need in America. According to International Inbound/Development Coordinator, Denise Malsky, host families are sought to temporarily provide care throughout the duration of the child’s stay while he or she receives medical care. Those host families “open their hearts and homes,” said Denise.

Children, depending on their needs, may stay as short as one month or up to a year under the care of the  organization. The duration depends on the seriousness of the case; for some children it might be as serious as a brain tumor. Other types of surgery improves a child’s quality of life.

Normally, children are identified by medical teams as needing more help than the team can give while donating their time abroad.

Hundreds and hundreds of children are helped as far as Nigeria and Kenya, China, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Ecuador. “The majority of the children come from loving families,” said Denise, but either to not have access to doctors or hospitals and, at times, cultural differences may play a role in the type of care children may or may not receive. In 2015, nine traveled to New Jersey to receive medical care.

Among those children include Jenifa Ndambuki who came from Kenya. According to Denise, “She had a severe club foot deformity and had difficulty walking. She stayed with a new host family who resides in Bedminster. They formed a wonderful relationship.”

Susie Levine and her family hosted Jenifa last year from October 2014 through April 2015. “It’s a complicated story,” said Susie, when asked about how she got involved. “My daughter had been to Africa with the traveling school of her high school and was touched by the community in Africa; when she came back she connected with Healing the Children.” It had taken nearly a year, nine months, to get Jenifa to the United States. Susies’ daughter Perri was familiar with the village. She quickly took to women’s causes and had done so since an early age recalled her mother. For a girl like Jenifa she would suffer additional hardships because it is a common practice in her village to have an arranged marriage.

According to Susie, Jenifa couldn’t really walk, and Jenifa might be forced to marry someone not as desirable due to her condition – it might be someone older or poorer. She was a low status candidate for a good marriage.

“My daughter got involved with this wanting to give back to her experiences in Africa – she convinced us to proceed with this… we thought we could change this little girl’s life but she changed us,” said Susie.

Jenifa, whose home did not have running water, had never had a shower or bath. “She never rode a bike or played a piano. She never took a bath in a bathtub. She never wore a fancy party dress. And she never experienced a walk without pain or struggle before her trip to America. As an outcast in her community she was routinely kicked and teased. Now she has returned home with the ability to walk with a normal gait and a new sense of self-worth!,” said Susie.

Susie added that Jenifa is very sweet; although she did not have much, she is warm, loving, and made their family unit stronger, more dedicated and we worked together to take care of her.

Jenifa arrived during the week of the Ebola scare – she had to be quarantined for 21 days and, naturally, the  community and school were cautious. She had become sick and it was very scary, but everyone in the community embraced her.

Susie noted that the 12 year old attended Bedminster School while here. “She was academically much farther behind so she had to be put in with nine year olds – but it worked out because she was so tiny from being malnourished and she was at the same level mentally.”

Susie recalled how she touched every button, pulled open every drawer; she did not have electricity, but she quickly learned to fit in.“She was definitely from a warm, loving environment and was ready to go home to her grandmother and sister who she lives with.”

It was a community effort; the whole community stepped in and up including her with activities. “A neighbor took her to church every week.”

Jenifa had three surgeries then was sent back home in a brace. Susie said, “I think of her often. I sit here with the picture of her on my desk; she came to the office many times with me.” Susie, who works for the non-profit  organization, Great Swamp Watershed Association, said Jenifa learned a lot about the Watershed; we were teaching her things whether it was colors or numbers or words. “People at my job embraced her,” said Susie.

Susie’s husband, Cal, often took Jenifa to the supermarket. She would come to him and say “supermarket” and they would drive there. He would get her a mango or whatever she wanted to get. It was a family event, said Susie.

Her daughter Perri, a freshman now at Tulane University, New Orleans continues to do community service with Rain Tree House, which brings in girls who have been abused and neglected. They house them until they can go home or are placed in foster care. Many of the girls are harshly treated inner city children. The Levines would consider  hosting again. The only challenge Susie said was that her daughter would want to be involved so they would host between May and August when her daughter is home from college.

International Inbound/Development Coordinator, Denise Malsky, added another touching case when a boy named Cesar Jhamir Haro Lopez, 12, from Peru had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. “When I submitted his medical report to a surgeon for her opinion, she said she could save his life. He is now back to have additional surgery and is staying with a host family in Summit.”

Cesar, who arrived in 2014, is being shared. Two families are cohosting his stay. Tijana Hitchon with her husband, Jonathan, and her neighbor Rosemarie Gelber with her husband Charles, share responsibilities.

“It helped to split the week,” said Tijana, Rosemarie works three days a week and I would have him the other three days.” It also relieves the stress of the responsibility because Tijana added that he “came with a huge brain tumor the size of a grapefruit so you can imagine… he also has some developmental disabilities. It’s very intense as Cesar requires a lot of care.”

Cesar was close to dying when he arrived. He would not be able to survive without the surgery. They had to watch him very closely; he couldn’t cough or sneeze loudly as it could cause the tumor to burst.

Cesar, who had five surgeries, had been expected to stay about three months, but it took much longer. He had some infections but in the interim was sent home with a special helmet to see his family and recuperate. He is now here for his final two surgeries, the last planned for next week, said Tijana.

“He is a big kid, 180 pounds,” said Tijana, “and he loves his food.” It’s amazing how much he eats and will eat anything. It has been hard for Cesar who has trouble with balance and speech. It is hard for him to interact, but his host families encourage him to get up off the couch and away from video games. “He will get up to bake cookies,” laughed Tijana. “Food motivates him to move.”

It was her friend, Rosemarie, who first introduced her to Healing the Children NJ, who was hosting children. Rosemarie first came to me asking to help translate for one of the children and I learned about the child and the program, learned the amazing things one can do to help a child have a healthy life. “I enjoyed it; it is a lot of hard work but is very rewarding,” said Tijana.

Tijana added that when they do help, people are helping children literally from the jungle; they have to learn to use the toilet. “We are so used to it, we don’t even think of it; it’s a big adjustment but it is so wonderful once you are in it and you saved someone’s life.”

There are many additional stories such as with Carlos Reynoso, a bilateral amputee has had to come back for several visits. “His host family is wonderful!” said Denise Malsky. “They are a ‘veteran’ host family but have hosted Carlos each time he came back.”

Host families do not need special training and are not paid. Their offering of their home and time and friendship is a calling. While it is a huge commitment, Denise offers that it is also very rewarding—but “it’s hard,” as two-parent households often mean two-parents working today and they are always in need of more volunteers and new hosts.

Denise added “that in order for HTCNJ to bring children to New Jersey from around the world to receive care, we partner with three exceptional programs: Miles for Kids in Need /American Airlines and Rewards Program (They provide free round-trip tickets to the children and the escort). Airline Ambassadors International provides a medical escort program. They provide volunteer escorts (mostly airline personnel who use their days off) to travel to the country where the child is from and ‘deliver’ the child to their host families waiting at the airport in NJ or NY. It is truly a remarkable program with wonderful volunteers!”

2Another program that is run through Healing the Children, International One, arranges for donated medical care for children abroad who need it. Doctors and nurses go on this trip paying their own way for airfare and if not provided in the hosting country, their own hotel or housing costs. “Many use vacation time to donate services and expertise,” said Denise, “but the least of their problems is finding volunteers.” They also need to bring all the supplies and equipment with them for the surgeries. As I was on the phone with Denise, a team was readying themselves to leave for Ecuador. Their supplies, 30 bags, were being transported to the airport.

A number of companies donate those supplies needed for these trips. The top three include AmeriCare, a large non-profit in Connecticut which provides the medication and anesthesia; Map International which provides the sutures needed; and MedWish International out of Cleveland, Ohio, which provides the operating room supplies such as gloves, gowns, and bandages.

The type of care provided abroad includes General Pediatric Surgery, Ophtalmology, Plastic Surgery, Dental, Orthopedic, and Urology.

Laura Gilmartin, who oversees Medical Teams Abroad, is also the Domestic Aid Coordinator. Domestic Aid is provided to children of families located in New Jersey. They are often referred to the program by Social Workers or through applications that are reviewed. Each application is looked at individually, and very different needs are met through the program.

The program provides financial relief for families whose expenses go beyond their means. It’s not always the big items, but the smaller ones, such as a Mommy & Me Swim class for child with Down syndrome. “Domestic Aid pitches in to pay for that class,” said Laura. It is short term assistance.

Other examples include paying for a child to attend a Special Needs Camp or assisting in the cost of hearing aids, only partially covered by insurance. Other donations may include personal items such as diapers or wipes over a few months’ time until a family has the means to cover those costs.

“The program assists families that might otherwise fall through the gap,” said Laura.

St. Barnabas plays a critical role in the care donated to the organization. They have been with the organization for 20 years. There are go-to doctors, said Denise; those are the doctors that have provided care before and remain consistent with helping the organization.•

For more information on the organization or if you are interested in becoming a host family, go to http://htcnj.org/.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Christine Redman-Waldeyer is a poet and Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey. She has published three poetry collections, “Frame by Frame”, “Gravel”, and “Eve Asks” (all with Muse-Pie Press) and has appeared in Schuylkill Valley Journal, The Texas Review, Verse Wisconsin, and others. Christine earned her Doctorate of Letters from Drew University and is a doctoral candidate in Rowan University’s Ed.D program in higher education.

Source Exceptional Parent Magazine

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