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Posts for Country Dominican Republic

Dec222011

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The Greatest Gift

posted by at 6:08 am

Lia, holding a "before" picture

Earlier this month I had the incredible opportunity to make my first visit to our hospital in the Dominican Republic. During my trip, I was able to spend some time in our hospital and witness the physical and spiritual healing that takes place there every day.  I was also blessed to meet our amazing staff face to face and to spend some time learning about all the different needs for volunteers at the hospital.

One of the most memorable experiences from my trip was my visit to Lia’s house. Lia was born with bilateral radial club hands, a deformity that causes the arms to be short and bent. After a series of surgeries to fix her fingers and straighten her arms, beautiful little Lia, who is three years old, is now able to use both her arms to play and dance with her little sister. Lia’s mom was so thankful for the change in Lia that she wrote a nine page letter to the hospital thanking them for healing Lia. It was amazing to see a CURE success story like Lia in person.

At Lia's house

Since I have been back from the Dominican Republic, I have been thinking about Lia and the fact that, although she is on her way to being cured, there is still a lot of work to be done in the Dominican Republic.  There are thousands of children like Lia who still need help. There is also a need for help at the hospital. As Christmas quickly approaches and I have turned my attention to gift giving, I have become even more convicted about the real needs around the world.  In America, very few of us truly understand what it is like to need something.

The gifts we give are often to fulfill our wants, and while there is nothing wrong with this, I am convinced that the greatest gifts we can give have nothing to do with wrapping paper and bows.  Sometimes the greatest gift we can give is the gift of our time, our talents, and our lives to others.  In fact, the reason we celebrate Christmas is because of God’s greatest gift to us, His Son, Jesus. God calls us to give of ourselves as well.  I am humbled by our hospital staff as they give of their time and talents to bring the gift of healing to children.

a patient at CURE DR

As the New Year approaches, I have been challenged by their example to find ways to give more of my time, talents, and resources to furthering God’s kingdom.  I hope that as we consider the gift of God’s Son this Christmas and look ahead to a new year, we all can consider giving more of ourselves to God’s work.  Perhaps God is calling you this year to take part in fulfilling a need in a child’s life.  If so, I hope you consider fulfilling that need in partnership with CURE.  There are a number of ways to get involved such, as donating toward a child’s surgery through the CUREkids program. Or, take a more “hands on approach” and consider going on a short-term missions trip this year; there are opportunities for all kinds of volunteers.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Let’s all work together to make the world a little better in 2012.

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Dec112011

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CURE Center serves thousands of children with bone diseases

posted by at 6:37 am

The following was originally published in Spanish by Hoy, a newspaper in the Dominican Republic.

More than 10,000 children with bone problems and disabilities have been treated at the center of CURE International, a Christian organization that has been in the country for seven years, serving a population living in extreme poverty.

Robbie Jackson, the center’s director, is an American who fell in love with the Dominican Republic and decided to make this country her evangelical cause. Read the rest of this entry »

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Oct262011

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Lessons from a CURE Patient: Being “Others Focused”

posted by at 6:48 am

Time with Heidi (in the red shirt)

I learn a lot during home visits with kids and families who have received care at CURE hospitals.  I just returned from a remarkable trip to CURE’s hospital in the Dominican Republic.  I was schooled in the art of being “others focused” by Heidi.  Heidi is not your typical 16-year-old girl.  She was born without either of her legs below the knees.  For the first 14 years of her life, she struggled to overcome her disability in a country with few accommodations for such conditions.  Yet she continued to hold on to her dream of the day she would walk… even while she was unable to attend school, spending the majority of her days crawling from place to place.  She shared, with tears in her eyes, how she literally had zero friends due to her condition. Read the rest of this entry »

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Aug252011

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CURE DR Update: Irene Impact

posted by at 6:46 am

When hurricane Irene first hit the Dominican Republic, CURE DR did not experience any significant damage.  We did lose power.  We have continued to have wind gusts and heavy rains, even as Irene moved on to the Bahamas. At the moment, it is calm, but the sea is really angry. Irene has delayed patient arrivals.We managed to get the new generator connected, and now Dr. Ruggles is operating again. This is a big answered prayer!

Please continue to pray for the people of DR and for the safety of our patients traveling to and from the hospital.

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Aug052011

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Emily update from CURE DR

posted by at 9:57 am

We received this update from our executive director in the DR, Robbie Jackson, on the effect on tropical storm Emily.

Emily just dropped tropical rains–the worst was this morning if
you can believe that! But with heavy downpours comes trash flowing in the
street, and those who live in the barrios are subject to another cholera
outbreak. Then the mosquitoes will come. We fortunately missed the worst of
it because it hit the mountains, broke apart, and skidded off into the
Atlantic.

All is well… thanks so much for praying for us… we are grateful and we
need it more than you know!

Please continue to pray for the island as they deal with the aftermath of the storm.

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Aug032011

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Tropical Storm Emily: Prayer for Haiti and the Dominican Republic

posted by at 11:14 am

Tropical storm Emily is heading directly toward the DR & Haiti. On its current trajectory, it will hit later this evening. Please be in prayer for the residents in both countries and especially for the patients and staff in our Santo Domingo hospital. We plan to update our prayer request application with news from the hospital as we hear it.

click “I will pray” to follow this request.

I Will Pray

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/03/haiti-braces-tropical-storm-emily

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Aug022011

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Orioles help out CURE DR

posted by at 6:43 am

CURE DR Interim Executive Director, Robbie Jackson, and Manuel Lopez of the Baltimore Orioles CURE DR (Dominican Republic) has worked with the Baltimore Orioles in the past, and the relationship has been beneficial to both organizations.  Recently, the Orioles announced a gracious donation of physical therapy equipment to CURE DR.  Dave Walker and Manuel Lopez, from the Orioles, recently came to CURE DR to deliver the first part of that donation. The second part of the donation — mostly heavier items, like hand and ankle weights — will come in a container in January.

Thank you, Baltimore Orioles, for your continued support of CURE DR!

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May122011

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Milwaukee Brewers & CURE DR

posted by at 6:46 am

Here are photos from a recent visit to the Milwaukee Brewers Academy here in the Dominican Republic. They had three members from their U.S. training center who worked with us to do player orthopedic evaluations on their 2011 team. They were really grateful CURE is in the Dominican Republic and can provide services they need for their players. It was a great morning! Read the rest of this entry »

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Apr272011

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Batter Up: Detroit Tigers and CURE DR

posted by at 9:48 am

As a lifelong Tigers (and yes,even Lions) fan, this announcement is very exciting for me! Personally, I’ve been a Tigers fan since the days of Alan Trammel. As a kid, I remember collecting all the Detroit Tiger cards I could find, trading any and all cards; I had to get more Tigers. As an adult, in retrospect, this was probably not wise and certainly not lucrative, but that’s the magic of being a kid, none of that matters. All that mattered was collecting the whole team each and every year!

So it is with exceptional personal excitement that I bring to you, in words and in pictures, CURE’s trip to visit, and examine, the Detroit Tigers at their facility in the Dominican Republic! Read the rest of this entry »

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Jan142011

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Lisemene’s Story

posted by at 10:08 am

The doors of the elevator opened, and there she was.  It was Lisemene.  I had heard this girl’s tragic story shortly after the Haiti earthquake a year ago.  We have a video clip of Dr. Mark Sinclair, one of the CURE doctors from the U.A.E. who volunteered in Haiti during those early days after the quake, telling her story.  I remember watching it and feeling devastated just thinking about what life would be like for Lisemene – now living without her legs that were crushed under the rubble from a fallen building and without her family who abandoned her because they didn’t want to deal with her disability.  Even worse, when her family left her at the hospital, they took her 5-year-old son with them.

I’m certain that there are similar stories in Haiti, and too many of them probably end right here.  But not for Lisemene.  The one positive out of all of this is that she was taken to the hospital where CURE was working, and she wasn’t forgotten when her initial wounds were healed.

A generous donor, who also volunteered with CURE in Haiti, wanted to make sure she received care.  We were able to provide her with prosthetics and physical therapy.  After many months of wading through paperwork and bureaucratic roadblocks, she was able to travel to CURE’s hospital in the Dominican Republic.  There she received better prosthetics and more therapy.

The day I met her, I sensed her sadness, but I also saw her beautiful smile and deep appreciation for CURE and the donor who cared enough about her to make sure her story didn’t end in devastation but instead had hope.

Watching her walk across the hospital ward, I knew it had.  Oh yeah, I should tell you that her son, quiet and shy, watched her make that walk too.

Below is a video of Lisemene walking. (I was lucky enough to get a hug at the end.)

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