Tison came out of the two hour surgery, completing a major hurdle in the year of care in the U.S. The hospital staff did a wonderful job of preparing him and making him comfortable with the unknown ahead of him. He has never had surgery before. He was aware of why he was here and the day of his reconstruction had finally come. Liz Wood, the nurse who has a major role in his care, wrote her evaluation of the surgery, “Some work on his...

Tison has had a wonderful Christmas and has seen a lot of new things. I have written about his adjustments and the many people who have been a part of his first month here in Fairbanks. He is a lot of fun and is really making strides in his English language. I am surprised at how fast he is picking up phrases and key words.The real reason he has come here is to get his burn injuries treated. Liz sent us a note with the awesome news that he has...

Tison opened each gift with what can only be called–pure joy. He was as excited and joyous for everyone who got to open a gift at our home, for his first American Christmas. It was like the best day you can imagine.When the dust settled he got three movies. He kept saying moobee. He loved the remote control car and mastered it in a short time. Our dog does not appreciate the car but Tison is enjoying the small things.We do not have a date...

English is not an easy language to master. If you come from a remote island in a far off corner of Indonesia, you will not hear English spoken. You may not even hear Bahasa Indonesia (official language) spoken either, because many of these people speak only their local dialect. Tison comes from one of these places and has done very well in his first weeks in America.We just love the way he asks to see a movie–he calls it MooBee. He is now...

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...