Good Monday morning to you…

We are celebrating an exciting moment in the history of CURE!  We’ve reached a million patients.  It is an exciting milestone, which could not have been accomplished without the hard work and dedication of all CURE employees around the globe.  I’d like to share a couple of things in connection with this.

First off, we are very honored to have received congratulations from the Zambian Ministry of Health as well as the Kenyan Ministry of Medical Services on our million patient milestone.  CURE truly appreciates the cooperation and support they’ve given to our hospitals.  We also appreciate the support we’ve received from all of the government ministries in the countries where we operate hospitals. Their partnership has helped us deliver care to so many children over the last 11 years.

Franciscah

I’d also like to share comments from two former patients of ours named Franciscah and Grace.  Both were among CURE’s first patients in 1998, and both had their lives changed forever because of the care they received at the AIC-CURE International Children’s Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya.

Here’s what Franciscah had to say about her life before she came to CURE,

“My family perceived me as a curse to them. I was of no value to them, and, if anything, they saw me as an unnecessary burden. In fact, they wished I could die in my childhood to get rid of the shame of having a disabled child.”

This changed for her after her experience at CURE Kenya. Today she is a completely different person,  “My life has been transformed full-cycle.  I am self-dependent and happily married. I see even a brighter future. AIC-CURE Kenya is an oasis of hope for disabled children and their families in Kenya.”

Grace has a similar story.  Growing up with a physical disability was difficult for her, “I was stigmatized by children of my age at school and the community at large. I became withdrawn. [Verbal] abuses and [being] laughed at were the order of the day.”

Grace

Her life changed for the better though when she came to CURE Kenya. Grace recalled, “I was welcomed well by the dedicated and loving staff who encouraged me and raised my self-esteem. I even came to know that I was not the only child with spine problems. Indeed, there were others with more complications than I had.”

And today, she lives a full and productive life, “Life has positively changed both physically and spiritually. I can now do anything without fear of being withdrawn or abused.  I can walk long distances and run without having difficulty in breathing.”

There stories have another great twist.  Franciscah and Grace both now work at the CURE Kenya hospital.  Not only have their lives been changed, they also can share their stories with the hospital’s patients.

These stories are amazing and testify to the legacy CURE is leaving throughout the developing world.  We celebrate the first million and look forward to the millions more we’ll transform in the coming years!

And I can’t forget to add.  We reached these patients because of people who have given generously to CURE.

So, to all of you who have supported our cause over the years, we owe you a big Thank You!

Good morning from a suddenly rainy and chilly Lemoyne…

We’ve just received a beautiful story from our Dominican Republic hospital about a 2-year-old boy named Brandy.  Before he came to CURE, his knees bent backwards; but thanks to the surgical experts at our hospital, his knees now look like normal.

Brandy before his surgery at CURE

Brandy after his surgery at CURE

Brandy’s family and neighbors are already viewing him as a miracle!  We always love getting these stories and look forward to sharing many more with you.  These kids are the reason why CURE exists.

A couple more items….

The Pendulum, Elon University’s student newspaper, published an excellent story about Drea Dorrow, an Elon student who has spent a lot of time at our hospital in Malawi.  You can check it out here.

And in a follow up from last week, CURE’s own Abbie Taggart successfully completed the Baltimore Marathon in a time of 4:28:14.  Abbie’s supporters really came through as well.  She raised almost $6,500 for CURE.  Congrats to Abbie and many thanks to those who donated to her cause!