​Update from HKIE
Our friend
Derrylyn Churchwell
just informed us that Bryan is doing very well since he had his heart surgery a year ago at Hospital Metropolitano in Quito. He had a valve replacement and one section of his aorta was too large and another section was too small.
Before his life saving surgery Bryan could only walk about one block before he had to stop and rest.
Thanks to Derrylyn for bring Byron to the attention of HKIE and all of our loyal donors Bryan now can live a full, healthy life.
You know you are having a great day when you save a child's life!

5/15.....​Update from Helping Kids in Ecuador (HKIE)
Today HKIE made another donation to help
Edith Marianne Garcia
and Jamie with their project to provide food to some of the most desperate families in Salinas and surrounding barrios along the coast.
The funds donated were raised at the HKIE event held at Casa Blanca (Will and Peggy's house) in Salinas this past February. A huge thank you goes out to all the people who attended the event and made this donation and others possible.
Next up will be a donation to
Dodie Schadlich
and her Weekend Warriors to help them continue to their efforts to provide food to the families in need in Salinas and other barrios on the coast.
Edith, Jamie, Dodie and all the volunteers have delivered tons of food in their huge humanitarian effort and HKIE is proud to support them.

UPDATE 5/20

​In our latest post, we mentioned that HKIE on the coast contributed to the food projects there in Salinas.
Monday, we sent funds to the Emaus House here in Cuenca which continues to help feed the needy during this crisis. last week they provided food and medicine for 85 families.
Also helped again was the orphanage in Azogues run by Hogar de Jesucristo which has 16 children and 4 staff members to provide food, medicines and shelter to. HKIE will start providing the orphans with medical care at Hospital del Rio relieving the foundation of the medical cost. To all the children: Welcome to HKIE!
Until this crisis is over and we can get back to our goal of providing surgeries and other medical needs, HKIE will continue to do our part.

Helping Kids in Ecuador (HKIE) Update
As the quarantine continues, unfortunately we are not doing surgeries at this time (unless an emergency comes up of course).
This past weekend we received a request for help from Sr. Veronica Kim ( who is one of our prime coastal contacts for children). She is connected to "Hogar de Jesucristo", a small orphanage in Azogues. This orphanage houses 16 boys and girls with four resident helpers. They receive no funding from any private foundations or the government. The orphanage was in dire need of extra funds to feed and supply necessary medication for these children this month. HKIE donated funds to help them through this rough time.
When things get back to normal, we will visit the orphanage and work with the staff on a plan to bring the children to Cuenca for full medical check ups. We will let the staff know they can call us for any medical needs the children might have in the future.
All those involved at Hogar de Jesucristo send our supporters their sincere thanks!

Two children who will grow up without the stigma of a cleft lip.
First is Stefano, a 3 month old from Machala (shown with his mother and father) and the other is 3 month old Yerek. Stefano, after surgery, was not a happy camper but he will be! Both families are so very grateful to HKIE and our supporters AND Dr. Pablo Salamea Molina and Hospital del Rio for allowing their boys a chance to have a normal life!

Pictured is 10 year old Jaklin with her mom. She lives in a little community outside Gualaceo, where most of her relatives are blind or have minimal vision. Her eyesight is so bad she could not read the board at school. Now with her new glasses, she will be able to keep up with the rest of her classmates.
Also shown is 14 year old Xavier...some may remember our first encounter with him several years ago. He had been told he was going blind and to start studying braille. Now, about 4 years later, while he needs exceptionally strong lenses, he is still able to see and keep up in school.
Many thanks to our donors and to Dr. Miotto and his staff at Exilaser for working so generously with HKIE.

This week our pediatrician at Hospital delRio saw two of our patients. First was 6 year old Angel who has a lump on his neck. Upon examination it was determined it is a benign tumor most likely cause by and infection. Dr. Niera assured mom that it will not grow and is not dangerous. Should it cause pain or problems down the line, surgery would be an option.
Next was 3 year old Domenic, referred to us by Rocio from CETAP Lucy. Domenic was having trouble breathing and getting fevers. Dr. Niera determined he has an allergic reaction to the dust and heat inside the house. We purchased some medicine and hopefully he will be fine.

This week the public hospital (Vicente Corral Moscoso) is hosting Fundacion Rostros Felices, HKIE, and ReSurge International from Stanford University Medical School to create ears for 12 children.
The team will perform 4 surgeries each day....the surgeries taking approximately 3 1/2 hours. Today we watched
Dr. Fernando Quintana Jedermann from Guayaquil and Dr Pablo Javier Salamea Molina create an ear on a 6 year old born with Microtia...a condition where the ear is barely formed. It was an amazing process to watch these two doctors take 2 pieces of rib cartilage, form them together in the shape of the child's other ear and insert it under the skin!
He will have a second cosmetic surgery to make to complete the process. These surgeons are all Michaelangelos with a scalpel!
ReSurge.org have been taking surgical teams around the world for 50 years not only performing surgeries, but also training surgeons in third world countries on the proper techniques for plastic/reconstructive procedures.

Remember our Super Bowl Party? Well, thanks to Jennifer Cory, Jim Cory, Brian Hitsky, Robin Littlepage and Brad Littlepage and all the great folks who partipated and bid on the raffle, two little girls are in the process of gaining a better life!
Yesterday Little 18 day old Angelita from Cotocachi was fitted for a mouth prosthesis by Dra Mariela Siguencia. This will enable her to eat and drink correctly until she can have her cleft lip surgery in about 3 months. Dr Pablo Salamea attended to explain the surgery process and also ordered serveral tests to evaluate her health.
Last week Dra Mariela created a prosthesis for 9 year old Sarahi from Machala.Her cleft palate had never been repaired and at 9 years old she is unable to speak. The prosthesis ( think of our old style retainers ! ) fits tight against her palate...she is beginning speech therapy and will have her palate repaired soon.
Thank you Dra Mariela Elisa Siguencia, Dr Pablo Javier Salamea Molina, Hospital del Rio and all our donors who make these little miracles happen

This past week while dropping some articles off at Hogar del Esperanza, Gary introduced us to a sweet family from Columbia who had been living under bridge for a month. He explained that three of the children, ages 11, 9 and 7 had some very bothersome dermatological issues.
We got the three into our dermatologist Dra Yadira Tapia at Hospital del Rio the following morning. After examining all three, we purchased the needed medicines (following a thorough explanation by Dra Yadira). The children will do a follow up in a couple weeks.
Thnaks to our donors and our volunteer doctors at Hospital del Rio this sweet, thankful family is on their way to a healthier life

First is 20 day old Maria Paz who has a very severe cleft lip making it impossible for her to feed adequately. Dra Mariela Siguencia of Hospital del Rio fashioned a custom prosthetic for her mouth enabling her to eat until her surgery at 3 months.
Next is little Carlitos who just completed his 10th corticoid surgery to lessen and soften his severe scarring, especially on his lower face. he will now be ready for surgery to remove the scar. More on him later.
Then we have shown Dr Juan-Carlos Salamea-Molina (Dr Pablo's brother) of Hospital del Rio with Josue Cristopher and mom before having his surgery on a private area causing him pain and infection.
All of this again made possible by our loyal supporters, the generosity of our doctors and Hospital del Rio. The children and families send a huge thank you!