Alex’s update from China – August 11

Tao and Alex

What a packed day!  In the morning, I went to rounds again and I was asked to present the research project on the spot.  Around 1:30 pm, I went to the Chun Miao school to meet with Zhang Wen Tao, an 11 year old boy we have sponsored.  It was neat to see that he was happy.  He liked the Ohio State hat I gave to him.  The communication was a bit challenging, but we managed, thanks to “Google translate”.  I left the school happy to see that he was emotionally doing well.  I think the goal is to better support his Scoliosis and other medical issues.  From there, I went about 40 minutes to Shun Yi, the village area where Hope Foster Home is located.  I was immediately greeted by Dr. Steve Martin (who happens to look a little like the actor, Christian Bale) and his father.  Right after stepping through the door way, I was whisked upstairs to see a procedure for a child with club feet.  Dr. Martin used local anesthetic and cut a small portion of the Achilles tendon to allow dorsal (upward) rotation of the foot.  The baby’s feet were then placed in casts to try and influence the area to heal in a more normal way. This procedure, I learned, is known as the Ponseti Method and it is used to correct the foot so that the child can hopefully walk.  Along with this, the child had a condition known as Arthrogryposis, which causes problems with the joints, making the affected limbs unusable.  

The family of the doctor is quite large, six kids and all of them are full of energy!  Along with the doctor’s family, I’ve already met some really great people.  There is a father who is with his two sons on a humanitarian trip where they are visiting 12 nations and doing humanitarian work for one month.  It was amazing to hear that the idea actually came from the 13 year old son.  He believed that he wasn’t making enough of his time with the normal school and American life, so he influenced his dad and brother to start a globetrotting journey to make a difference in the world. 

Here are some websites everyone should check out:

http://www.hopefosterhome.com/

http://twelveintwelve.org/

http://www.medart.org.hk/web/main.php   This is a great group of talented physicians that provide, free of charge, care and operations for Chinese orphans with urology, tumors, orthopedic, and other medical needs.  They also put on concerts to raise money, since most of the physicians are also classically trained musicians!