Simple, urgent and life changing!

First is 14 year old Blanca who had a cyst at her left eye which was affecting her vision. Dr. Pablo performed the procedure to remove it under twilight and all is good!

Next is 3 year old Jandry who had been scheduled to have his webbed hand and foot repaired. However we received a call from his parents stating they had been told he needed another surgery immediately. He had a hydrocele (swollen and infected testicle) which could cause serious problems now and later in life. They came from the Ambato area several days later and Juan Carlos Molina (Pablo's brother) did the surgery. The family is now home awaiting their return for the little one's fingers and toes.

Last is 1 1/2 year old Roberta. Slightly over a year ago Dr. Pablo corrected her cleft lip. She came up this week for her cleft palate surgery. She will now have the opportunity to speak and eat without problems. 

​Needless to say, all the families are so grateful to our donors and doctors for these blessings.
Thanks!

 

​A life saved thanks to the surgeons, Hospital del Rio and our loyal donors!
This is 1 1/2 year old Allisson who was born with an extra vein between her heart chambers. This caused blood around her lungs and prevented her from breathing normally. Can you imagine how her mother felt, seeing her little baby struggle to breathe, knowing there was a surgery to correct the problem, but also knowing she could never afford it!
Thanks to Derrylyn Churchill who alerted HKIE of this situation, Allisson was seen by Dr. Rodrigo Mendoza of Hospital del Rio. Between Dr. Rodrigo, our medical director Dr. Pablo Salamea Molina, Dr Juan Flores the cardiac surgeon, and Hospital del Rio, HKIE was able to provide the necessary heart surgery.
Allisson had her surgery last week and Dr. Rodrigo informs us she is set to have a heart healthy life! (Shown with mom and Dr. Rodrigo)
None of this would have been possible without the joint efforts of all concerned, and most importantly ..... all those who donated to this foundation!
Both Dr Flores and Dr Mendoza waived their surgical fee! Thank you. As they always do, the hospital gave us a generous discount!
All of the donors who have been supporting HKIE over the years should stand up and take a bow! Without you the foundation wouldn't have been able financially to help this child or the previous 455 children.

​Meet 7 year old Miguel Valencia from the Quito area. We were introduced to him via our friend at Hospital Metropolitano in Quito. While discussing another matter she told us the story of this young boy who desperately needed surgery. About two years ago, late one night, Miguel mistook a bottle containing a corrosive cleaner for a drink. The upper part of his esophagus was totally destroyed. The first hospital he was rushed to said nothing could be done. His parents got him to another hospital where they inserted a feeding tube and the doctors told Miguel and his parents that was how he would live his life...never again tasting food or drink!
Fortunately Miguel came to the attention of the doctors at Metropolitano. While it is a fairly new procedure, the doctors and parents decided an esophageal replacement could be the answer.
This was a complicated eight hour surgery!
Great News! HKIE was just notified by the hospital that not only is Miguel out of intensive care, he is eating solids for the first time since the accident and thoroughly enjoying every bite! Miguel is due to return home safely on Friday.
Thanks to the staff at Metropolitano who donated their services, and the generous donors of HKIE, this young man will now be able to live and enjoy a normal life!
The dramatic increase in the quality of his life is beyond words!

This is 5 year old Josue David shown with Dr Juan-Carlos Salamea-Molina
from Hospital del Rio. This young man suffered from 2 undescended testicles. In addition to psychological problems left untreated this condition may also cause infertility and testicular cancer.
Dr Juan-Carlos, Dr Pablo's brother, always waives his surgical fees.
Hospital Del Rio, as always, provided HKIE with a generous discount.
Dr Juan Carlos performed the corrective surgery yesterday. His mother and the other 10 extended family members with whom he lives are very thankful for the help they received from HKIE.
Also shown is little Isabela. Isabela's nose was eaten away from an severe infection post birth and she has received 6 corrective surgeries with Dr Pablo Salamea Molina , Dra. Maria Siguencia and Dr. Diego Maldonado. Yesterday Dr. Pablo and Dra. Siguencia put in a new prosthetic while her nose continues to heal.
All the doctors involved waived their fees!
A big thank you to our supporters, our doctors and Hospital del Rio.

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.

This is 4 year old Andres from the Cotacachi area. He was born with a condition called Macroglossia. As you can see his condition makes speaking impossible. The only way he can eat is with his parents holding his tongue down and putting soft food at the back of his mouth to swallow.
The expat community in that area held a fundraiser to help little Andres, but he needs at least 3 months of medical treatment through Hospital Metropolitano in Quito. Then the doctors will reevaluate his case to see if surgery is possible.
HKIE has wrapped this young man in our "blanket" to insure he gets the care needed. How could we say no? Andres and his family has HKIE and our loyal donors ready to help!
Thanks to Paulette Mayfield for bringing him to our attention and to all of the people who attended their fundraiser.

First is 18 month old Pedro who had his cleft palate repaired by Dr. Pablo Salamea Molina at Hospital del Rio.He will now be able to learn to speak correctly and will have no problem chewing his food.
Second is Jhander. Some of you may remember from 4 years ago when HKIE paid for his first heart procedure at Sta Ines Hospital. The doctors had said the surgery was a matter of life and death. He has since had 2 more procedures done at IESS.
Last week he was released from Sta Ines after his fourth heart procedure to put in another stint. His blood saturation level pre surgery was only 74%. The surgeons fell good aout this surgery and Jhander is happy to be on his way home.
As you can imagine, both families are so thankful to HKIE, our generous supporters, hospitals and medical staff for giving their. children the opportunity to have a healthy, normal life.

Helping Kids in Ecuador (HKIE) Child 330
Pictured is 15 year old Bryan with Dr Mendoza from Hospital del Rio. Bryan's plight was brought to our attention by our friend and supporter Derrylyn Churchill. He is in desperate need of heart surgery...his father having died within the last year of the same heart disease.
In his present condition, he can only walk about half a block before he needs to stop and catch his breath.
Bryan and his family were told that without the surgery his life expectancy would be very short. We had Bryan seen by Dr. Mendoza in the hopes he could repair the heart through angioplasty. After several exams, it was decided he needs open heart surgery.
Bryan was sent to Hospital Metropolitano in Quito where they have several pediatric heart surgeons. He had many more tests there also and it has been decided he will have his (8 to 10 hour) open heart surgery this coming Tuesday..
While they know the risks involved with this surgery, the surgical team took the time to explain exactly what they would be doing and made the entire family very comfortable and confident that all will go well.
He needs his aortic valve replaced; also two areas of his aortic artery are in need of repair: one area being restricted and the other too open.
To date this is the most difficult and expensive surgery HKIE has ever taken on.
Please keep Bryan and his family in your prayers and thoughts while they go through this very difficult surgery and recovery.
More updates coming..

​This is 4 year old Jeremi.
Jereni was involved in a horrible automobile accident when he was one old and literally lost most of his face. The family was told by the clinic in Quito there was nothing to be done. Fortunately the family was able to contact a German foundation there which arranged with a hospital in Germany to perform whatever surgeries necessary or possible there. The only cost to the family would be their transportation.
Jeremi has had several surgeries and is leaving in October for another: this one to create a mouth.
In the meantime Jeremi needed a new prosthetic to cover most of his face and create an eye and a nose. Thanks to Dra Mariela Elisa Siguencia Siguencia, Dr Pablo Salamea Molina, Hospital del Rio, and most importantly, our HKIE supporters, Jeremi received his prosthetic face piece.
His mother know feels she can take him out in public and perhaps get him in school.
Once Jeremi has suffiicent time to recover from his next surgery, we will bring back to Cuenca to see if any of his future surgeries can done here.
What a life changer for Jeremi!!
A huge thank you goes out to our friend Ed Lindquist from Expat Magazine for bringing Jeremi to our attention. Thanks Ed!