The adjustment to American food has and will be a test for Tison. He is doing pretty good but still looks at us like–you are going to eat THAT. We had one of my favorite meals tonight–my wife’s moose taco dinner. She serves a flour tortilla that fits nicely on a plate. We had all the regulars–sour cream, onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce, moose meat mixed with re-fried beans, and cheese. She added a dish of cucumbers,...

It just snowed and Tison went outside for some fun. He is in a very strange place with snow and crazy people who enjoy the outside. This is a place where your eye brows and eye lashes can frost in the cold. It happens quickly and you hardly even notice it.Tison will be looking at his first surgery very soon. He has an open would on his right shin and it will need to be closed with skin grafting. He has had fun adjusting to his new home and...

Tison has hit the road running. He had to first get settled in his host family. Dr. Greg and Sue Johnson have opened their arms, hearts and home to him. He not only has his American Mom and Dad, in Greg and Sue, but he has a big brother in their son Andrew. In many ways, Andrew was the person who got this rescue started. Andrew met Tison on a trip to Indonesia in March of 2009. Andrew and his father joined a dental team from Alaska that went to...

Tison finally arrived in Fairbanks. He wore a big smile and walked into the arrival area to about 25 people welcoming him to his new home. He was joined by Hendra, his escort and translator, for the over 30 hours of travel since Jakarta. He actually took three days to get from our medical base to Jakarta–so he has been traveling a long time.It has taken a mountain of work to get him to Fairbanks. I am amazed at how many good people we...

We just celebrated Thanksgiving here in America. We went to our friends home and enjoyed a big turkey dinner and lots of laughs. We sat together around the table following the meal and each of use spoke about the things we were thankful for.Tison has not sat around a table to list the things he would be thankful for. I know he is going to be entering the most important year of his young life. He is ten years old and his year of transformation...

The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta has awarded Tison and Hendra a visa to come to the U.S. This is really good news for all of us–many people have worked on making this possible. This is a major step forward. Tison and Hendra, his escort, will be in Alaska sometime in the second week of December. This will be a wonderful year for Tison–he will be given all the medical treatment needed to repair his burn injuries. Tison will be going to...

I wanted to update all of you on the progress in the effort to get Tison to Alaska for the medical help being offered to him. Tison is burned over 40% of his body and has suffered a lot following the kerosene spill accident. He is so brave and has been living with his disabilities. The amazing Liz Wood, surgical nurse and unstoppable advocate, has been the coordinator of the medical effort to treat his injures. She has been successful in...

Yes–it seems like getting Tison to the U.S. is just a small step at a time. Tison’s parents were able to find a Notary who would sign the “power of attorney”. The problem that was confronted was to find a Notary who could sign an English document (POA). The Indonesian Notary would not notarize a document that they did not understand. We had the original document translated into Indonesian and we had a translator on site...

I have sad this many times–it is hard work helping people. The efforts to get Tison to the U.S. are moving forward. We did run into a “bump in the road”. We need to have the “power of attorney” documents signed and notarized by an Indonesian Notary. We had the POA translated into Indonesian and also in English. Tison and his family went to Ternate to have the documents signed They could not find a Notary who could...

Imagine the shock Tison, the nine year old Indonesian burn survivor, will have when he steps off the warm Alaska Airlines flight onto the frozen walkway into the terminal. Fairbanks Alaska is a very cold place in the winter. I have been told the he is excited about coming to Alaska. I know he is excited but he will experience a cold that he cannot even imagine.There will be the normal culture issues to overcome. He is a really great little boy....