Rainbow Families Foundation Newsletter - December 2003

December 2003

Christmas Eve is the day for Dominican families to get together for the big meal. I had dinner with Jacobo, Yanny and the girls. Jacobo's sister and brother in law traditionally prepare a whole pig over a spit and share it with the family. This day Jacobo plays down (like a normal day) and doesn't like to make a fuss. He's one that doesn't like a lot of food on the table because it makes him ill to see it. We had the pork, fried shredded yucca and potato salad. It was delicious. Yanny is an excellent cook and I always enjoy eating at their house. They didn't have a single sign of Christmas decoration and no gifts. I took a bottle of wine and box of candy so we celebrated very quiet listening to Dominican Christian music. The neighborhood was very busy with motorcycles racing from the locals drinking so much and of course loud music and kids lighting firecrackers. I cringe every time a firecracker goes off, expecting someone to get hurt. Christmas Day I went around visiting a few people. Afterwards I went to Jacobo's house once again and ate the traditional stew called “Sal Cocho” made with pork, yucca, pumpkin, potatoes, carrots and lots of seasonings. It is delicious. On the way there I gave out candy canes to the children in Mozovi. Then I visited the Polanco family after they returned from the church service. Corrina had invited me for dinner Christmas Eve but I already had plans with Jacobo and his family. Today (Friday, 26 December) it is raining and overcast. Because of all the rain in October, November and December the fruit tree plantations have had a lot of damage because the trees have rotted and uprooted. It will be a severe blow to the country at next year's harvest. It's a pity because the fruit is very important for the people of this country. Corrina's and Yanny's blenders both broke and they are unable to prepare juice. This is an important machine in the Dominican home. I would like to buy each of them a blender (liquidora) as a thank you for everything they have done to help me. Corrina tells everybody that I am her daughter. She is such a lovely person and I am sure has many extended children and sisters. Yanny and I are very close as well now that I am able to communicate in Spanish much better than in the beginning. As for the children, Anny is now in her grandmother's home in Monte Llano. I went to visit last week but because I had effects of a cold I did not enter her room. I had a long conversation with Alyandrina, Anny's grandmother. Anny has a good appetite, has good days and also has days of severe depression. Alyandrina said Anny cries to sit outside and hear the sounds and music in the street. She must explain that it is not possible. She cannot tell her that the people will speak badly about her because she looks like a freak. Though Anny is blind, she is not deaf.

Alyandrina tells me that Dr. Reyes in Puerto Plata has told Anny that she is going to Boston and Anny is excited to go. However, he is telling her that the Boston Hospital will make her good again. This I don't understand. She has severe 3rd degree burn injuries and will never be normal again and I tried to explain this to Alyandrina the best I could. I've attached the current photos of Anny showing her condition. My next visit to Anny's house I will ask for a photo before the accident and send it to you. Anny will be 15 on 25 January. Her accident was 15 June 2003 and her mother was murdered 18 June 2002, not earlier this year as I previously understood. Anny's adult cousin told me this year, which was incorrect.

Dr. Sheridan at Shriner's Hospital in Boston asked for current photos to see the result of the 5 plastic surgeries she has had already. I sent the photos by Federal Express on Monday so with the holiday this week hopefully he will receive them today. He will then make a determination if Shriner's can accept her. (And I thought things took a long time in the DR.) Previously he asked for an update on her condition. I explained to him that she is stable and able to travel; however, she requires extensive physical therapy because she has suffered severe neurological damage. She is unable to walk or feed herself and can only sit up in a chair for a little while. She has cataracts and only sees a hazy white blur. Dr. Sheridan does not want to give the family false hope that Shriner's can make her near normal again. Also, Shriner's does not have the funding to permit an extended stay there and she must have a sponsor or host family where she can live in between surgeries. He is waiting for me to guarantee a host family. How long Anny will be in Boston will be determined after Dr. Sheridan sees the photos. Antonia had a setback with getting the gripe (flu) once again. She was hospitalized in Santo Domingo for over a week. She had fever and fluid had built up around her heart once again. Now she is in her home in Severe and Jacobo and I will visit her tomorrow, if . . . it is not raining and if . . . his truck can pass through the high rivers, into the countryside and up the mountain. Because we have had so much rain and the nights have been cold, many people have been sick with gripe, including me. Franklin is continuing his chemotherapy in Santo Domingo. His doctor, Dra. Gladys Paulino, was on vacation and during her absence a student doctor told the family he had bone cancer. His blood is tested after each treatment. When Dra. Paulino returned from vacation she said it was not true. This would have been very bad news. She said Franklin was responding well to the chemo. He has lost all his hair and is thin. I had done some research on the St. Jude Hospital in Memphis and would like to send Franklin there since they accept patients from other countries. The family is very poor and does not have the resources to continue the expensive treatment. St. Jude's provides treatment for free. The procedure for acceptance at St. Jude is that the attending physician must submit a letter. Dra. Paulino was to send a letter last week but the last time I called she had not had time to do it yet. Franklin was 12 years old on 13 October. His 3 sisters continue to live with in Santiago with their great uncle to alleviate some burden to the family and get a better education. Not sure if I mentioned this previously but Franklin is on our baseball team in Arroyo de Leche. Jacobo is not involved in this case but now that he knows Franklin is on the baseball team he wants to visit him on Saturday as well. Luitka continues appointments in Santo Domingo. She has gone through a series of testing and surgeries will be scheduled in January. Remember she is the girl born without an anus. Joheves, the young man that learned about my work with Jose Antonio has been helping tremendously with her and is following through with her appointments and treatment and meets with me when he needs my advice. He is 24 years old and became friends with Luitka and her mother because he volunteers his time with boys and girls in “Boy Scouts”. Luitka lives in San Marcos but she has family near his home. Luitka lives with her mother and sister and the sister works to provide for the family. They are very, very poor. He is an electrical engineer graduate, professor in the university in Puerto Plata at night and speaks English very well. He also has a rock Christian band. His mother is a school teacher and speaks English also. His natural father is a biology and chemistry professor and also works with the government to preserve the forests and wild animals. His grandparents were teachers as well. His natural mother and father have remarried to other people but he and his younger brother live with their mother. Jose Antonio continues to do well, getting taller and chubby. I hope to see him on Saturday when Jacobo and I go into the countryside. I want a current photo of him and I need to make an appointment for checkup with Dr. Bonet in Santo Domingo before my departure. Jacobo wants to take me to a little girl whose body is deformed. I am thinking with what he is describing is that she has scoliosis. Other people have come to me with children's medical cases but I have to refuse them. My energy now is limited to those I am attending to and I cannot take on anymore. The computer continues to freeze up when I am typing. I suspect the hard drive has taken a toll on the constant power outages. Also, the hard drive does not acknowledge the backup battery or perhaps the battery has outlived its time. A friend who had an internet business offered that I can use the laptop connection in his office to send emails and go on the internet. He closed his internet business and sold the computers. The network connection requires a larger connector to the laptop than I have. I went to a computer store and they said the laptop should have come with two different size connectors into the card. I don't remember getting two and have only used the smaller connection. The cost at the internet café continues to increase along with everything else here. The exchange rate hovers about 35-37 pesos per us dollar but at one time was 42 pesos per dollar.