Monday, May 30, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Desiderata
As the Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann says, “Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.”
Friday, May 27, 2011
Calvin Coolidge in West Peoria Helps Haiti
See this article on WEEK-WHOI TV today.
Calvin Coolidge Grade School in West Peoria had an event today at Franciscan Park that raised 2,000 dollars for Haitian Hearts.
The funds will be used for the pediatric malnutrition program in Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince.
Haitian Hearts is very grateful for all of the kids efforts and for the very hard work of teacher Hedy Elliot-Gardner, Principal Blumer and the entire faculty and staff at Calvin Coolidge.
Calvin Coolidge Grade School in West Peoria had an event today at Franciscan Park that raised 2,000 dollars for Haitian Hearts.
The funds will be used for the pediatric malnutrition program in Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince.
Haitian Hearts is very grateful for all of the kids efforts and for the very hard work of teacher Hedy Elliot-Gardner, Principal Blumer and the entire faculty and staff at Calvin Coolidge.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Rose (2000-2011)
Photo by John Carroll
Rose came to the Haitian clinic last year. She was escorted by her nice uncle who knew her history.
They spent much of the day travelling from a little village in southern Haiti to get to the clinic.
Rose's uncle explained to me that during Haiti's earthquake Rose was trapped for four days with her dead father's body in the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince. She was miraculously pulled out with little injury, but during her post extrication exam someone noticed that she had a loud heart murmur.
I examined her and discovered she had an AV canal. This is a congenital heart defect that allows abnormal mixing of oxygenated and unoxygenated blood and too much blood flows to the lungs and hurts the lungs.
Rose needed to be further evaluated to see if she was a candidate for surgery.
So she and her uncle went back to her village and waited.
Rose was recently examined in Haiti and accepted for heart surgery to be done in August--three months from now. But on Saturday morning, three days ago, her mother notified us that Rose's legs swelled with fluid and she died.
Rose's mother was grateful for all we had done.
However, in all honesty, we didn't do much. And Rose needed heart surgery years ago. Long before the earthquake that killed her father.
Rose was able to survive Haiti's vicious earthquake, but the thing that killed her was Haiti's poverty.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Faith
Photo by John Carroll
May 21, 2011
"Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great achievement."
Thomas N. Carruther
Friday, May 20, 2011
Patience
"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them--every day begin the task anew."
St. Francis de Sales
