A minor setback for Jose

Jose's sclero has been delayed until Monday by Dr. Berenstein. His coagulation factor is not where they want it so they are giving him medication to help with that and will do the procedure on Monday. His surgery is now scheduled for Wednesday. Margaret is doing great and the new schedule will put them home over the weekend which works out great for their family. Jose will remain in PICU throughout the days in between procedures and after surgery until discharge. This is routine for all of Dr. Waner's AVM patients. No need to worry...this is a more relaxed side of PICU and very comfortable with private rooms painted in jungle themes. They are right next to the nurse's station so Margaret can slip out to shower and such. Scott leaves to come home Sunday.
This creates a much longer hospitalization for Jose...a week more than expected. The hospital has been wonderful about absorbing the increased cost that this involves for them financially.

Surgery delayed for Jose until Monday

Thank you to all who have written and asked about Jose and his foster family. I have passed on your thoughts and notes to them on your behalf. Unfortunately, Jose is going to need more injections of sclerotherapy medications into his malformation tomorrow morning, which means that the surgery will be delayed until Monday. He isn't very happy about being in the hospital, and I know Margaret and Scott are tired, but Jose is safe and in expert hands, for which we are grateful. His story is being watched in Central America on the TV station, Telemundo. The reporter who interviewed him yesterday was to come back tomorrow after surgery, but I imagine they will wait until early next week. We hope Jose's parents were able to see their son on TV in their village, I can only imagine what a thrill that would have been for them.
Jose's father is a rural farmer in Guatemala, and he has to keep his cell phone dry so he doesn't take it to the fields with him. His wife Maria has been keeping watch over the phone this week and has been updated daily by our translator.

Jose is resting in Intensive Care tonight

Jose had a long day but is doing very well. Today's treatment involved five hours of sclerotherapy into the facial malformation. This was done under general anesthesia, which has historically been difficult for Jose to recover from without stomach issues. His did very well today with this, and tonight at 6 was drinking apple juice. The doctors placed Jose in pediatric intensive care due to the large amount of facial swelling following the injections. I know it is hard to imagine the malformation being any bigger than it already was!
Dr. Waner and Dr. Berenstein will make a decision early in the morning on doing another set of injections, and if they decide to do this, the surgery will be delayed at least until Friday. This is a very big AV malformation, and the foster mother was told by the doctors today that Jose's life expectancy without surgery would have only been into his early 20's.
Margaret and Scott are holding up well, and one of them will be with Jose each night. They are very appreciative of all of the kind wishes being expressed on Jose's behalf. Our translator called Jose's parents in his Guatemalan village tonight to update them on the progress.

Two boys in Guatemala say "thank you" to their brother's donors

When Jose's parents heard (via our wonderful translator Stanley) that Jose was going to be able to have his surgery, they were overjoyed. Maria, Jose's mother, dressed Jose's two little brother's up in their best clothing (recently donated from the U.S.) and had a neighbor who owns a camera take this photo for Jose to take to the hospital. Jose has not seen his siblings or his parents since he arrived in the states on August 27th of last year.
Jose is in New York City as I write this. His injection procedure into his facial AV malformation is at 7 AM Wednesday morning, and surgery is scheduled for Thursday morning. We are very grateful to Midwest Airlines for the donation of tickets for Jose and his foster parents, Margaret and Scott.
Thanks to our amazing donors, the $18,700 was wired to Roosevelt Hospital today at 1:00. Jose is fortunate to have such generous donors. Thank you ALL and I will keep the blog updated at the week progresses.

Surgery scheduled in New York City for a special boy from Guatemala

Forty-seven generous donors have sent the required $18,700 to allow Jose to have his surgeries in NYC on August 25th and 27th! Two surgical/interventional radiology procedures will be necessary to resolve the AV malformation that Jose suffers from.
The funds required to obtain the surgery for Jose have to be collected and deposited, then wired to NYC by next Tuesday. Thanks to a phenomenal response from those who responded to Jose's need, he is now scheduled to arrive in New York on a donated Midwest flight, and the flurry of activity will start soon after. He is expected to be hospitalized for 4-5 days.
Margaret and Scott, the foster family, are paying for the hotel expenses in NYC. If any funds come in that are over the amount we needed to raise, we will be able to help them with travel needs.
There really are no words that are adequate to express the appreciation of those who have helped this special little boy from rural Guatemala. Most of the donors have never met Jose, which makes the trust they placed in COTA all the more special. From a group of nurses in New Jersey to a donor in California, the concern for Jose reached coast-to-coast.
I asked Carlos, Jose's father, to write a letter to his son's benefactors. I will send a copy in each thank you note. He and his wife are very grateful.

Amazing response to Jose's need

Seven year old Alex had a lemonade stand and brought $33 to my door. I sold an aquarium for $40 on Craig's list. My sister is sending $500, and a brother did the same. Friends of a host family contributed $1,000; a nurse who travels with the COTA teams has sent $200, another sent $25. Two friends dropped off checks today, and another family who has adopted from Guatemala sent a wonderful donation. The list goes on....many kind people who have been touched by Jose's story.
Jose's foster mother took a photo of him thanking all of his donors. If all of our pledges come in on time (deadline is next Monday), we will be within $1,694.89 of our goal. In this economy, raising nearly $18,700 in such a short time could only be accomplished through each of you. What an amazing gift you have given Jose.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you to all of Jose's new friends who have been so generous about donating toward his surgery. We are 3/4's of the way to our goal! Only $4,300 left to go. Amazing effort. I really appreciate all who have sent this blog on. The money must be in the bank account of the hospital in New York by next Tuesday.
The phone lines have been busy between NYC, where the surgery will take place, and Lexington, KY, where the COTA office is, on into Tennessee, where Jose is in foster care. Now our fundraising goal looks promising, there have been many e-mails and calls made to coordinate flights to NYC, paperwork, pre-op physicals, the power-of-attorney papers from Guatemala, and the schedules of all three specialists who will be caring for Jose at Roosevelt Hospital. Jose's parents in Guatemala are being kept informed of the big things happening for their son thanks to the generosity of people who have never even met this special little boy.
Stay tuned!

Update on Jose's fundraiser

What an incredible show of support for Jose there has been these last few days. From a former COTA foster parent in Nashville to a group of nurses in New Jersey, and on into Wyoming from a COTA friend who filmed a documentary on our program....the concern for this little boy has been reflected in financial donations. To date we have $5,676.34 in-hand and $6,200 pledged. This leaves Jose's fund with a total of $11,876.34 if all pledges are received.
Please help by passing this message onto any friends or family you might think would be interested. We are still $6,823.66 short, and if by a miracle we are able to raise anything over our goal, it would be much appreciated. The foster family is prepared to pay their own travel and hotel expenses to NYC for Jose's surgery. What a gift if they didn't have to.
Thank you to all who are helping. I have let Jose's parents know of your efforts.
Jody

Jose from Guatemala needs your help

Jose (see below) has a chance of a lifetime to have his large facial hemangioma removed in NYC. He is scheduled for surgery with Dr. Milton Waner at Roosevelt Hospital on August 26th and again on August 28th for both interventional injection therapy and for surgery. The renowned international specialists Dr. Waner and Dr. Berenstein have donated their professional skills.
Roosevelt Hospital is being kind enough to give us the hospitalization at cost. Having said this, we still need to find $18,700 and have it in their hands by August 24th, before admission.
I have done everything possible to get this bill to the lowest figure. The pediatric anesthesiologist has been asked to and has agreed to donate his services. That helped bring the bill down from $25,000.
COTA has been trying since August 27th of last year to help Jose with this AV malformation. He was born with this, and despite 7 injection treatments over the past year in Tennessee, it continues to grow. Surgical intervention is our only hope of keeping this "beast" of a malformation from growing. The medical concerns are tracheal deviation and bleeding from tumor injury. These are and have been valid concerns.
Two COTA foster families in TN have been very generous with their time, networking, and financial contributions to Jose's care. His foster family has donated their home, travel, financial resources and most importantly, their love for this special little boy. All those who have grown fond of Jose, and have communicated with his family in Guatemala, are in hopes that this miracle can happen for him.
Any financial assistance for Jose would be much appreciated. I will keep the blog updated on how much we are able to raise. To date, we are at the half-way mark, with less than two weeks to reach the goal. Any checks, no matter how small, can be sent to:
Children of the Americas
1781 Eastwood Dr
Lexington, KY 40502

Many thanks for any help,
Jody Greenlee, RN
Vice President, Children of the Americas