Since the doctors opening up last week, HKIE has been busy coordinating 15 children for medicines, surgeries, glasses, and exams.
A young boy is having a very complicated surgery on his damaged esophagus today at Metropolitano Hospital in Quito. More on him later.
Last week Dra Nataly Torres , the pediatric specialist from Exilaser spent over 2 hours with 3 of our children. Ana and Fernando had been seen the previous week but Dra Nataly wanted to verify the diagnosis. Fernando and Ana both need extra strong lenses; Ana needs a neurology exam tomorrow at Hospital del Rio.
Child 418 is a cousin of theirs, 8 year old Jenny. She too has "bouncing eyes" and will most likely need surgery
In the meantime all three will need special therapy, as their eyesight was so bad as very young children, their learning curve was severely impaired. The therapy will be set up once the buses begin running from the Ludo area.
We are also currently working with two patients from Salinas and one from Cotacachi. More on them coming..
Thanks to our donors and Dra. Nataly (who volunteered the entire 3 hours!), these children will have a chance at life f.or a normal life.clic aquí para editar.

Pictured is 14 year old Brandon. His mother was told several year ago he would soon be blind unless he received a corneal transplant in both eyes. Any surgery, much less a expensive corneal transplant, is something they could never afford. Just imagine the pain and disappointment he and his family was living with everyday knowing he was losing his eyesight.
We got Brandon to Dr.
Giuseppe Miotto
of Exilaser. He agreed with the diagnosis and is already working on procuring a cornea. Very soon, thanks to the continued support of our donors and the generous discount providing by Exilaser, Brando will have his first surgery. After he recovers, we will make every effort to provide him with his second corneal transplant as soon as possible.
Brandon and his mother, after years of worrying about his loss of vision, were overwhelmed with joy that so many people they will never meet in person stepped up to help them.
As were walking home from Brandon's appointment, we talked about how only a few years ago HKIE would not have been in the position financially to help this family.
Thanks to your support and the wonderful eye surgeons at Exilaser, this young man will not be facing a life with no vision!

This is 16 year old Jhon from a small community near Machala. Jhon was born with a cleft lip but being from a small village, he did not have access to a plastic surgeon nor could his family afford one. Last year his father heard about HKIE and Dr.
Pablo Javier Salamea Molina
and was able to have his cleft lip repaired.
Yesterday, Jhon had rhinoplasty surgery to repair a severely damaged septum which was causing breathing difficulties. This was a very, very difficult surgery and Dr Pablo asked Dr Diego Maldonado, our ENT surgeon, to assist him.
Both surgeons always waive their surgical fees and Hospital Del Rio always gives HKIE a generous discount.
Now Jhon is ready to go forward with his life, thanks to all our supporters, Dr Pablo and Hospital del Rio.
Jhon is shown here with Dr Pablo's right hand "man", Dra.
Nicole Solano
and Dr Maldonado
HKIE is truly blessed to have these three doctors on our team!Paragraph. Haz clic aquí para editar.

​This past week we were able to get a few of our patients in for doctor visits.
First is 8 year old Fernando, from Ludo. After the normal vision test the doctor needed a more in depth study and ordered a CT of his eyes. It turns out Fernando has nystagmus: a condition in which eyes make repetitive, uncontrolled movements...making it difficult for vision and balance. He has had this condition since birth and Dr Miotto explained it could not be helped by surgery. Monday Fernando will have a follow up with Exilaser's pediatric specialist to be fitted for glasses to greatly improved his vision.
Next is Fernando's 9 year old sister Anita who also has vision problems from birth. The CT confirmed a loss in her field of vision. Anita is pictured wearing her new frames, awaiting delivery on her new lenses so she can have normal vision on Monday. Exilaser, as always, waived the fees for the vision tests.
Last is 13 year old Nayali, also from Ludo. She has had a hearing problem from birth and it was thought she may need new hearing aids. After a hearing test through our ENT, Dr. Diego Maldonado at Hospital Del Rio, it was decided to first try to re calibrate her old hearing aids before considering new ones.
Dr Diego ,as always, waived his fees!
Thanks to our loyal supporters and these generous doctors, the lives of three more children have been greatly improved.

First is young 5 year old Juan (whose sweet mother Mercedes does the cleaning of many expat homes). Juan's legs and feet were beginning to grow incorrectly....forcing him into a waddle like walk. A special brace was created (shown here on the outside of his clothes but to be worn inside) from his waist down to some orthopedic insoles. Hopefully this brace will do the trick and he will soon be running around like all his friends. To be on the safe side, we will have him examined by Dr Gustavo Ochoa, our orthopedic surgeon, as soon as possible.
Next is 12 year old Mateo from Ludo, a very small village about 45 minutes from Cuenca. Mateo was introduced to HKIE by the local priest Father Joseph and our neighbor Dina
Dina Lea Klotz
. He needed new lenses,, but upon the basic examination the doctor was concerned and performed a very complete ophthamologic exam. It turns out Mateo has Nistagmus, which causes his eyes to jump around making focusing very difficult. The doctor feels it is a condition from birth. Surgery can be an possible option if his special glasses do not do the trick, so at a later date we will get Mateo to see our doctors at Exilaser. In the meantime it is felt his new glasses, which he will receive next week, will do the trick.
He is shown here with his blanket donated by Dina and in his protective gear for the exam.
Both of these patients are works in progress and we will be there for both of them all the way.

This is 7 year old Dilan with his parents and with our pediatric surgeon Dra Muirkis.
Dilan was born with a defect in his "personal plumbing", making urinating very difficult for him. He was seen this week by Dra Muirkis who said he will need 2 if not three surgeries to correct this defect.
More information on his progress in future posts.
Thanks to Dra Muirkis for coming in special to examine Dilan, and to all our supporters, Dilan will soon perform normally and grow up without any problems in his genitals.
When he reaches adulthood, he will REALLY be thankful he received the surgeries he so desperately needed!Paragraph. Haz clic aquí para editar.

Right before the virus lockdown, Dr. Pablo Salamea Molina
performed his second surgery on 12 year old Angel. Angel was born with a severely misshapen ear and Dr Pablo is performing surgeries to correct the problem.
Also is young 4 year old Danny. Danny had life threatening nighttime seizures. HKIE has been providing medicines to both prevent the seizures and to help him sleep peacefully through the night.
Lastly is 2 1/2 year old Juan David who was born with congenital cataracts. After 2 surgeries, he now has his eyesight but requires special eye drops to prevent the glaucoma from returning.
Three children with families who send their deepest thanks to all the supporters of HKIE who make these life changes possible.

​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!