Jennifer Lang, Program Manager, January 19, 2012
Operations Officer Stanley Liste joined the Hope for Haiti team in January 2008. A crucial part of Hope for Haiti’s Emergency Response team following the devastating earthquake in January 2010, Stanley has participated in many difficult medical cases. It is rare in Haiti – where so many lack access to healthcare, to hear success stories. It is even more rare to see a successful patient grow over several years.
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| Kidney Clerger, Feb 2009 |
Kidney Clerger was one of Hope for Haiti’s earliest Robert E. Hord consultations. Entering the Program in February 2009, Kidney presented with Amniotic bands formed at birth. While amputation was initially considered, Hope for Haiti’s partners at FINCA Hospital were able to perform a surgery on Kidney’s foot. For only $350 US, Kidney received a surgery that enabled her to walk.
Almost three-years later, Stanley was able to visit with the family and see Kidney’s progress first-hand. Today, Kidney can run and play—and even stand on one foot! As Stanley approached the house—half-built with cement and a palm tree roof, he saw Kidney running through the yard with three of her girl friends. Stanley knows Kidney’s mother, Sandra, from the marketplace where she works, and he greeted his other acquaintances from construction and family ties throughout the neighborhood.
As Hope for Haiti’s current Healthcare Program Manager, I have relied on Stanley as a liaison in numerous difficult cases. Still, my tenure here stretches only since June 2011, and I do not remember the struggles of Kidney’s handicap or her laughter after her first steps. When I talked to Stanley about what makes Kidney’s case stand out, he highlighted many factors. “Successful surgeries in Haiti require a lot of variables to come together. You need to find the right hospital, the right doctor. You need money. The medications you need have to be found in country or shipped in.”
More than that, though, his response touched on the true nature of cases like Kidney’s. “When I was helping the Clergers, I feel like I’m helping someone in whose situation I could have found myself. “ The Robert E. Hord Program gives the gift of surgeries to children born with handicaps like Kidney Clerger; my work with Hope for Haiti, and Stanley’s work, allows us to experience that gift.
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| Kidney Clerger, March 2009 | Kidney Clerger stand on one leg after playing. |
Kidney Clerger, Dec. 2011 |