Orthofix

The generous donation of Orthofix to CURE International is revolutionizing deformity correction, limb lengthening and trauma care at our Dominican Republic and Haiti sites. Some of the common uses for these devices are bowlegs, other angular deformities of the lower extremities, lengthening for congenital short femur, osteomyelitis, fractures, nonunions, and bone transport for bone deficiency after trauma.

Pictured is a 12 year old boy named Laudy who lives in a destitute part of the Dominican Republic about 4 hours from the capital. When he came to CURE he was diagnosed with pseudoachondroplasia a type of dwarfism with this typical “windswept” deformity of the lower extremities. The angular deformities were analyzed and 6 osteotomies were performed along with the application of 4 Orthofix Paediatric LRS rails. Prior to this 4 hour operation Laudy was hardly able to walk. Today he is elated to be running for the first time in his life. Now he has brought the first of several cousins who are also affected by this rare type of dwarfism. Click here to see pictures of his cousin Yini along with some other patients treated at our center.

Because of the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Orthofix equipment that has been donated to CURE International we are able to provide our patients care that is equal to the best centers in the United States and Europe. Because of this type of generosity, our personal sacrifices, and economization we perform these many complex operations at a fraction of the cost that they would cost in the developed world. Also, relatively unique to CURE is our permanent or long term presence in the countries in which we serve making possible these operations that involve a process of close follow-up for procedures such as limb lengthening, bone transport, and deformity correction.

Thank you and congratulations to Orthofix and those of you who work for this generous company which is making a positive difference in this world.

Small Country Church - Big Hearts

“The church is in Philadelphia, MS, my hometown. It's a small country church, with mostly country people, but they have big hearts” describes Terry Winstead a recent visitor to CURE International Dominican Republic. After visiting our hospital, Terry, an occupational therapist from Mississippi returned home inspired to make a difference. He presented the Bethsaida Baptist Church with a report of his trip and a challenge to donate for surgical care of disabled children in the Dominican Republic. In addition he promised to make a matching donation for whatever was placed in the offering plate. After doubling their Sunday morning offering the amount reached over $3500. Each and every one of those dollars will be again multiplied as the lives of the children and families that we serve are changed through medical and spiritual healing. By personal sacrifice, corporate equipment donations, and harvesting wasted excess of medical supplies in the United States we are able to provide state of the art surgical care for our patients at a fraction of the cost normally required. Not everyone is called to leave the shores of their comfort zone to serve, but these simple folk from Mississippi have stepped forward as an example of what Christ has repeatedly asked us to do. Call it an investment, moral obligation, or Biblical principle, the rewards of sacrifice are great.

Give and it will be given to you... Luke 6:38

Roynelis, a 4 year old girl born with a nonfunctional thumb on the left hand underwent reconstructive surgery to create a thumb by transplantation of her index finger. In addition to a wrist repositioning surgery a similar operation will be performed on the right side where she was born missing a thumb and one of her forearm bones. Thanks to support from people like the members of the Bethsaida Baptist Church CURE surgeons and staff are able to transform the lives of children around the world. Click here to see pictures of similar operations performed at CURE Dominican Republic.