l​This is 15 year old Santiago who underwent chemo for leukemia at the Solca Hospital here in Cuenca. During his treatments he contracted herpes which seems to attack the eyes in young people. The disease has caused the inability to see out of his right eye.
HKIE was contacted and we had him examined by Dr. Miotto at Exilaser. It has been determined he needs a cornea transplant. Dr. Miotto stated this will be a difficult surgery because his cornea is partially attached to the iris; but Dr. Miotto says he would still recommend the surgery.
Santiago has been placed on the government cornea list and we are hopeful he can have his surgery within the next few months. Both Santiago and his father are anxious and grateful to all.

​This is 10 year old Aaron. He was examined by Exilaser doctors last week and HKIE paid for a CT of his eyes. Today he saw Dra. Nataly Torres, the pediatric specialist at Exilaser.
Aaron has a very severe astigmatism, especially in his left eye. He received a new pair of glasses and eye drops to prevent him from rubbing his eyes, which could cause further damage. He will need a follow up eye exam in 3 months to check for any further deterioration and another CT in 6 months. If Aaron eyesight continues to decline, he will need a corneal transplant.
We assured him and his father that HKIE and our very loyal donors will do everything possible to insure he does not lose his vision!
Thanks to all our supporters for helping this great young man and to Exilaser and Dra
Naty Torres
for their continued support of HKIE kids.

Yesterday began with a 9 am appointment at Hospital del Rio for little Anita. Dra Torres during her exam last week wanted to confirm the reason for her poor eyesight. So Dr
David Barzallo Moscoso
, a pediatric neurologist performed an EEG. It is believed from those results that little Anita has a degenerative brain disease....there will be an MRI next week to confirm the finding. Anita got her first pair of glasses at Exilaser that will greatly improve her vision.
On a brighter note,10 Year old Nathalia saw our cardiologist Rodrigo Mendoza at del Rio....she had suspected heart problems. Dr. Mendoza put a 24 hour holter moniter on her. The results came back negative for any problems!
Yesterday we also took Nayali to Salud Audativa as a follow up to her previous hearing test. We set up a hearing aid calibration and replaced her earpieces. The father was extremely happy.
Lastly we took Cristian, one of our children from CETAP Lucy school, to Exilaser. He is shown here with his new glasses and also with
Rocio Illescas the angel who runs
Lucy Cetap the school which helps so many of the children with tutoring and familial and personal counseling..

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 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.

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.

Ok, this is a tough one to post. Just think what this family went through everyday!
This is 16 year old Karina who was born with glaucoma and lost her eyes at a very young age. As hard as it is to look at the before picture, imagine the family seeing their precious child like that. She was such an object of ridicule in her village she stopped leaving her house years ago and never attended any school.
Thanks to our supporters, Dra Mariela Elisa Siguencia and Hospital del Rio, Karina now has a new look and can now leave her house with her family. After a few months her eye socket and muscles will adjust to her new eyes and it will she will look even better.
As you can imagine, Karina's mother was overjoyed and thankful that a group of expats were willing to help her child in such a dramatic way.
Along with Dra Mariela, will be be looking for a special school for her to attend and be able to spend time with kids with other disabilities and perhaps have friends for the first time in her life!

Our colaboration with Exilaser continues to grow! The entire Exilaser staff are such a pleasure to work with!
This is 15 year old Cristina (also shown with her uncle and aunt). She comes from a small community outside Gualaceo of many blind and partially sighted people, mostly due to genetic problems.
When her family realized she was having headaches and poor vision, they naturally feared the worst! Fortunately, a visit and exam at Exilser showed she needed eye drops and glasses only.
Another happy HKIE and Exilaser moment.
Thank you Exilaser, Drs Miotto and Torres for your generosity with our children. And of course, thanks to all our donors who make this possible!