Billie is four years boy who came to the U.S. for surgery for a imperforate anus when he was less than two years old. Liz Wood, a nurse from Fairbanks, led the effort and his life was saved by her coordination of all the travel, funding and medical and personal sacrifice. Billie was operated on by Dr. David Bliss of Emanuel Hospital in Portland Oregon. The professional skills and compassion of Dr. Bliss gave Billie a future. He did very well...

Indra will get the needed surgery for the hole in his heart.I have to thanks a couple very generous and compassionate couples for stepping forward with the needed donations. It will mean a lot to give him a future.It amazes me that it really doesn’t take much to make a difference. The average surgery costs about $ 500 USD. I recently went to the hospital for a two night stay here in the U.S. and the cost was shocking. Thankfully, that is...

The little boy I wrote about in the last story is named Indra. He is four years old. He was abandoned by his parents and his aunt is now raising him. He is always in her arms. He has a hole in his heart and needs surgery for PDA.He is in a difficult time as his future is in question. He cannot run and play like the other children in the camp where he and his aunt are living. The camp they live in is depressing and not a good place to live....

I just got a note from IFC medical director, Esther Scarborough. She told me about a small boy (I do not have his name) who is living in a camp and needs surgery to close a hole in his heart. I got to see him because I have stopped at that camp a number of times. He is always in the arms of his mother and cries a lot. He seems lethargic and doctors feel they need to get him help soon. There are about 500 people living in this camp–they...

We were taken to the Ward to see the newest arrival. It seemed important and had an sense of urgency. When we went to the room we could see a young man in serious condition. Jurambi is 21 years old and has an unknown illness. It was a little early to know because he had just arrived and was being diagnosed. He was malnourished and very weak. He looks like someone with AIDS. The Doctor was doing tests and asking the questions about contracting...

Adrian an Antonetta are both very smart and committed young adults. I have admired both of them and knew they had high potential. They both took the entrance exam to medical school and passed. We already had two of our staff in medical school. Nius and Melly are doing well and now will be joined by these two. It is very costly to start school. We are planting seeds for the future. Someday we will have four amazing doctors running our clinic and...

It was raining hard and then the skies cleared so I walked to the leper treatment center. I wanted to see Hendrik who was the first leper in our care. He was sitting in front of his unit. I called out his name and heard his call back to me. He inspired the building of these units to help other lepers. He was rejected by his village and lived like a dog for 15 years. He is now happy and loved by everyone.Hendrik was not alone at the Tamariska...

Cat 5e cable, crimping tools, switches, plugs and much more–these are the parts we need to build a computer network at our clinic in Halmahera. This will greatly increase our ability to keep records of all of the patients that come to the clinic. Last year there were over 10,000 who came to our clinic for help. The intake form was done hard copy. That is a lot of records and sometimes difficult to find needed information. This network...

We have not had a door open for Yulens yet. Yulens is the 23 year old mother from Indonesia who was tragically burned. She is a mother of a small child and has a supportive husband. We are pursuing all our options in hopes that she will get the professional care she needs. She is burned on her face and chest. She also has some burns on her legs. It is much easier finding help for a child than an adult. I am still hopeful she will get the help...

Malaria is a huge problem in the remote islands of North Maluku. Our medical staff faithfully treat those who are suffering from malaria. It is not uncommon to have entire villages sick with malaria. These villages are called “black villages”. One “black village” is a Muslim village on a very remote small island. We have sent a number of teams to this village to help treat them–every family has had at least one...