Stan Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 []http://www.clubadventist.com/ubbthreads/attachments/159160-Sri_Lanka_COL.jpg[/] Rukshan, 7, is held by his mother in Sri Lanka. The boy, who was born with a heart condition, is the first tsunami-victim child to benefit from surgery through funds raised by the B.C. branch of the Adventist Disaster Relief Association, based in Abbotsford. By VIKKI HOPES Abbotsford News Mar 05 2005 An Abbotsford organization has partnered with a Langley doctor to help save young lives in tsunami-stricken Sri Lanka. The B.C. branch of the Adventist Disaster Relief Association (ADRA) has taken on the fund-raising component of providing life-saving surgery for young children, while Dr. Darlene Fandrich is part of the medical team ensuring these sick kids are saved. It's a partnership that involves many other players and which is close to completing its first surgery - to repair the defective heart of a seven-year-old boy named Rukshan. The boy is currently in a hospital in Sri Lanka where he is being treated until he is strong enough to undergo the surgery to repair a hole in his heart. Fandrich, in a recent trip to Sri Lanka, was responsible for transporting Rukshan and his mother from a hospital in Kamari to one in Colombo, where the surgery will be performed. The 10-hour journey was not without its complications. "The poor mother threw up 16 times in the back of my vehicle . . . By the time we got there, I had two patients, not one," said Fandrich, who returned to B.C. on Feb. 19 and heads back to Sri Lanka on March 12. A far more serious situation developed when Rukshan's oxygen tank emptied halfway through the trip, even though Fandrich had been assured that the tank was full. She then had to detour and find a hospital along the way that could provide her with a new oxygen tank - not an easy task in a country struggling with adequate medical supplies at the best of times, never mind following such a devastating time. They eventually arrived at their destination, and Rukshan has been awaiting surgery ever since. The procedure - itself estimated at $4,400 US (in addition to medical costs before and after the procedure) - is being paid for thanks to fund-raising efforts in the Lower Mainland. Fandrich said that's just a fraction of what it would cost to perform the surgery in Canada, where it would amount to about $100,000 US. In the United States, it would cost around $180,000, she said. The funds have either been given to Fandrich directly or to ADRA. She personally hand-delivered the money on her recent trip to Sri Lanka and plans to do the same for the future surgeries of other sick children there. Fandrich has been working with ADRA for the last eight years. The organization first approached her to go to Nicaragua to provide medical support for the victims of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. She has been doing relief work ever since, serving in places countries such as Mexico, Honduras and the Philippines. "I fell in love with it . . . It's real medicine . . . You treat with what you have to treat with. You do medicine on a very primitive level and you save lives. These people appreciate everything you do," she said. In Sri Lanka, Fandrich has set up medical clinics in three camps. There, she has been treating general conditions and those that have developed since the tsunami - mainly the result of so many people now having to live in close quarters since losing their homes. She said the most common ailments are a skin infection that has been dubbed "tsunami rash" and tuberculosis. Malaria is just starting to surface, she said. It is through her work in Sri Lanka that Fandrich has made contact with many other doctors, who work with her or operate their own clinics. It is at the clinics that these sick children are being identified. It was through two other doctors - Steven Price and Collin Young, both from B.C. Children's Hospital - that Fandrich first heard of Rukshan. The boy was so sick that Fandrich was told that he likely had no more than 36 hours to live without surgery. "When they phoned me about this child, I said, 'He's not going to die. They've lost enough children. I'm not going to let him die,' " she said. Fandrich then tracked down a pediatric cardiologist - Dr. Reveeje Perais - who agreed to perform the surgery at no charge, other than the direct medical costs. Fandrich was so intent on ensuring the surgery would go through that she left behind her own credit card before she could ensure the funds were available from donations made back home. The surgery was to be performed last week, but Rukshan's condition wasn't stable enough to proceed. He is currently on a heart catheter. Three other children have also been identified as being in urgent need of surgery. Fandrich said two of them also have heart conditions, and the other - a five-month-old baby - has "acute respiratory distress syndrome." ADRA communications director Stan Jensen said that every cent raised through ADRA goes directly to cover the costs of these procedures. In fact, so limited is ADRA's administration funding that the organization has difficulty spreading the word about its relief work, Jensen said. Anyone wanting to contribute to ADRA's relief efforts in Sri Lanka or directly to the children's surgeries may do so through: ADRA-BC, Box 1000, Abbotsford, V2S 4P5. A tax receipt will be issued for donations of $10 or more. The B.C. affiliate of ADRA runs Operation Hope. More details are available at the website www.bcadventist.ca More information about ADRA Canada is available on the website www.adra.ca - - - - - - Note from Stan (Operation Hope/ADRA-BC is another ministry that I get to manage, what a honour that is) Donations to help this can be sent to []paypal@operationhope.ca[/] Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Posted March 5, 2005 Author Share Posted March 5, 2005 Dr Darlene is not an Adventist, and is sacrificial giving her time and skills to us for this kind of ministry. If anyone is able, I would really like to provide her with a stipend of some sort. Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony! Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 Praise the Lord! This is a wonderful report! I think what is really a shame is that the Red Cross has record amounts of money - enough for a 10 year development plan - besides other agencies and what they have, and the problem is with the governments of these countries that may be having civil or political strife. They are essentially tying the hands of the relief agencies for fear that aid and funds will go to political rebel groups. No offense, but it seems we really don't need to give more here - the funds are there, it is now just a matter of political pressure being placed on the civil authorities to allow the aide organizations to do their work unhindered. Again, no offense, there are record amounts in the pot, so let's give somewhere else - how about your local food bank? Shelves are empty at this time of year and babies in your town are hungry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Posted March 5, 2005 Author Share Posted March 5, 2005 Here is the URL http://web.bcnewsgroup.com/portals-code/list.cgi?cat=43&paper=38&id=386790 Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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