When HCM sponsors Fritz and Connie Baesman wrote concerning the 15-year-old girl they support, Edwidge Mesadieu, we were alarmed by her situation. For those on the HCM staff whose job it is to keep track of the welfare of our 13,000 schoolchildren spread all over the country, the months following the earthquake were terrible. It was so hard to know what was going on in everyone's life. Edwidge survived the earthquake, but her mother's head was crushed under a three-story house.  Edwidge remained in the care of her stepfather, who is very diligent about meeting her needs.

  

Taken to a hospital outside Port-au-Prince, she had surgery three times without recovery.  The day I went to see her, she hurried into the bathroom to hide because the doctors were always trying to force the broken bone in her leg back into place which is incredibly painful. She thought I was a doctor.

  

When I saw her, I could not hold back my tears. She is young and pleasant and is in terrible pain without any hope of recovery. I looked at the X-ray that was taken on November 28, 2010. The femur bone in  the right leg is still separated after three surgeries. I conclude there will be no improvement for her unless a more experienced surgeon operates on her.

  

The Baesmans have sent $500 to help her. We are saving it for her until we can find a surgeon that will address her situation. While we do have an operating room in our small hospital in which all kinds of surgeries have been performed, this would be a very complicated surgery with a long recovery process so we feel she should be flown elsewhere for the operation. 

We stand with our hands outstretched on behalf of Edwidge. We will need a hospital, a surgeon and funds for her flights. The $500 donated by the Baesmans could be used for passport preparation, clothing and other necessities. If any individual or organization is interested in helping in any way with this, please email, write or call us. Thank you for your compassion.

  

With the KINGDOM in mind, the best is yet to come.  

The day after our last newsletter was sent out, HCM's new ambulance, dumptruck and bobcat were release from Haitian customs and driven to Fond-Parisien. Unlike the vans last fall, these three vehicles were in customs for less than two weeks.  We are so thankful for that and for all the generous people that made it possible to have these much needed sets of wheels. You can see more pictures on the HCM Facebook page.

The bobcat being unloaded from the back of the dumptruck