“CURE gives hope to babies” from New Vision
“Life and war in Afghanistan” (photo) from the Washington Post
“High School Students Impact Society With Senior Projects” (photo) from Gingham Patch
“Time for Tim” from Philippine Daily Inquirer
“Niger replaces Afghanistan as worst place to be a mother” from Mission Network News
“ETV program at Muhimbili Orthopedic Institute is going well” from IFSBH
“Cure International’s hospital in Kabul” (photo) from The Baltimore Sun.
“Afghanistan no longer worst place for mothers – report” from AlertNet
“Afghan girls” (photo) from Reuters
“Working at CURE: Local nurse helps women, children in Afghanistan” from the Times and Democrat
“CURE IN KABUL: Orangeburg nurse recalls work in Afghanistan hospital” from the Times and Democrat
“Play a game and help CURE children” from Mission Network News
“Wayne, Pa. Company Helps Create ‘A Better World’” from CBS
“US football hero to build hospital in Mindanao” from the Mabuhay Radio
“Tim Tebow Foundation To Build Hospital In Davao” from Philippine Daily Mirror
“Tim Tebow takes time to meet families in crisis amid hoopla of playoffs” from the Florida Times-Union
“Colorado Fil-Ams enthralled by Tebow time” from Philippine Daily Inquirer
“The unadvertised game being won by Tim Tebow” from examiner.com
“Tim Tebow’s Charity Will Likely Reach $2.5 Million Goal Ahead Of Schedule” from the Huffington Post
“Why sports can use more athletes like Tim Tebow and Manny Pacquiao” from InterAKTV
“Tim Tebow Just Won Me Over” from Zwinglius Redivivus
Editor’s note: The following article was submitted by Cindy D. Ott, RN, who served in Kabul, Afghanistan, at the CURE hospital there.
Nine year old Tahra arrived at CURE Hospital barely able to walk and stooped over, unable to straighten out her spine. “When she is walking, she falls down,” said her father, Saed Ghulam Ali, a wheat farmer from Daikundi Province. He traveled three days to bring Tahra to Kabul to obtain help, leaving his two wives and children. He said they all live together, with Tahra being the oldest of five children with the second wife. He said his first wife, whom he described as his “bigger wife,” has three children, all married.
CURE Hospital was not the first stop for Tahra. Ali said he first took Tahra to a clinic in their area where he was told she had a neurological problem which they could not treat. He was given the address of a neurologist in Karta-parwan. “That doctor said she will not be fine and it will cost a lot of money to continue medical testing,” he said. The doctor gave him a card to get a wheelchair when his daughter would not be able to walk anymore. He was then referred to a public hospital in Wazirakbar Khan, where he said he went to many departments. He said Tahra received physical therapy there with two female physical therapists who told him, “Even if you take your daughter to America or Germany, she will not be fine.” Then, he said, he told them, “You are all thieves.”
Discouraged, he left the public hospital, and he and Tahra went to a restaurant. Tahra’s condition was getting worse. He said that while he was eating, an Afghan man told him he would help them and pay for a hotel room. He replied, “If you help me in the name of God, you should tell me where I go and help my daughter.” Ali said the waiters paid for the food and the fellow who offered to help pay the bill showed up the next day and took them to CURE Hospital.
Dr. Jerry Umanos, pediatrician at CURE Hospital, said Tahra’s case was puzzling. “We didn’t know what the problem was. We examined many possibilities. We consulted experts in the United States and in the United Kingdom, and they mentioned various possibilities, some of which were too expensive to consider. Finally, we narrowed the treatment to what could be done here and it seems to be working,” he said.
Tahra was diagnosed with Dopa Responsive Dystonia and prescribed 60 milligrams of dopamine daily. Dr. Djabbarova Zakhro, volunteer pediatrician at CURE Hospital, said she performed tests to check Tahra’s progress. “I checked muscle strength and reflexes and checked to see if her gait was getting better. I checked muscle strength by asking her to squeeze my fingers, and through these tests, I noticed the left side of her is weaker than her right side,” she said.
After two weeks of expert medical attention from the CURE pediatric staff and love and attention from the full-time nursing staff and CURE volunteer staff, Tahra has improved considerably. “She is able to walk fine, and she is even running. She’s not completely walking normally, but she is much better,” Dr. Umanos said.
Tahra’s father is very grateful to CURE for helping his daughter to walk again, and in the Afghan style, smiles, says “Tashikor (thank you),” bows his head, and places his hand over his heart.
“Coalition forces coordinate birth defect repair surgery for Afghan boy” from www.army.mil
I was in China this week. I enjoy reading articles in the English newspaper in Beijing called the China Daily. This past week, the paper included an article about the Chinese “character of the year.” The Chinese character, pronounced “kong,” is typically defined as “control.”
Control can be both a positive concept, like controlling inflation, or a very negative notion. On the negative side, I am reminded of a conversation I had with the Executive Director of the public hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. In addition to her hospital leadership role, she was also a trained obstetrician/gynecologist. She is well revered within the health system of Afghanistan. During a meeting with her, I took an opportunity to ask her about her life under the control of the Taliban in the 1990′s. She told me this story: Read the rest of this entry »
Women around the world celebrated the 100th year of International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March 2011. IWD was first recognized and celebrated as a holiday on 8 March 1911 in Austria. The day was created to honor hardworking women and create awareness of the injustices that women face everyday. The topics campaigned for at the very first IWD were women’s right to vote, equal places in the work force, the ability to hold public office, and the end of discrimination against women. Fast forward 100 years and there are women all over the world still fighting for these same issues. In Kabul, Afghanistan the battle is definitely still ongoing.
CURE International Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, celebrated International Women’s Day one day late, on the 9th of March 2011. We delayed our party so we could include a very honored and respected woman in Afghanistan, Dr. Soraya Dalil, Acting Minister of Public Health. About seven women from the hospital were actively involved in planning and organizing this event. Everyone on the planning committee had a wonderful time organizing the food, selecting gifts, and preparing days before with lots of wrapping and ribbon-making. There was a special invitation placed around the hospital that invited all the women of the hospital, including visiting trainees from other provinces, to join us in the cafeteria at 11:00am. As the women began to arrive, there was a lot of anticipation at whom the special guest would be and also excitement over the special gifts.
The cafeteria quickly filled with the women and everyone took their seats and waited for the program to begin. Dr. Soraya Dalil arrived and everyone was so excited to see that she would take time from her busy schedule and speak at our Women’s Day celebration. She took her seat and the program began. I did the opening welcome and began the introductions of our speakers. We had a lovely poem on Women’s Day by Nelofar, from our Pathology Department, that really got everyone excited about the celebration. Next, Dr. Sofia Hail, our Attending OB/GYN doctor and graduate of our OB/GYN Fellowship Program, gave the history behind Women’s Day and introduced our special guest and her former classmate, Dr. Soraya Dalil.
Dr. Dalil spoke encouraging words to the women of our hospital. She included her own experience here at CURE and how she was in our hospital for 56 days and had a 28 week premature baby that was cared for in our NICU. She spoke with great tenderness about her time here and how special it was because now she has a 4 year old healthy daughter that she loves dearly. She spoke of the many challenges that face women in Afghanistan and talked of ways to improve the infant and maternal mortality rates that are so prevalent in this country. You could tell that she captivated every woman in the room, holding their attention until the very last word. The women applauded as she left the podium, and it was evident on their faces that her words touched them deeply.
Next, Joe Davis-Fleming presented Dr. Dalil with a special gift, a bouquet of flowers and a chadar (scarf), as a thank you from our hospital. He also spoke words of praise and endearment for the hardworking women in our hospital and in Afghanistan. Dr. Yousuf Khan, our Deputy Medical Director, blessed the women with words of empowerment using the Koran as his basis and challenged them to continue to seek rights and fair treatment because that is what they deserved. Dr. Azeeta Hadid, our Family Medicine Resident Graduate and current Family Heath Center Manager, also spoke of women taking leadership in their country and the rights of women.
At the conclusion of the wonderful and encouraging speeches, the women were individually served a catered lunch from a local restaurant. The food was a wonderful selection of Afghan specialties that included qabli pilau, chicken and beef kabobs, spinach, chips, naan, salad, and potatoes. The women were then each presented with a beautiful red rose and a wrapped gift of a chadar (scarf). The women enjoyed the nice lunch, fellowship, and laughter with each other.
As Dr. Dalil exited the ceremony, she requested to visit the Maternity and NICU wards to reminisce of her time with us. She commented on how different it was, because we have reconstructed both wards since she and her daughter were patients here. She was impressed with the changes and glad for the opportunity to see them before leaving due to her busy schedule. After the ceremony was over, all of the Women’s Day committee members received so many compliments and praises from the women of our hospital. They enjoyed everything from having Dr. Dalil present to the wonderful lunch and the gifts. Each one said they had not received such a great celebration for women and were happy to be a part of it. It was worth all the work that went into the planning, decorating, and organizing when it was evident from all the women of the hospital that they felt appreciated, valued, and loved. This was the 100th celebration of International Women’s Day worldwide, but felt to most of these women that it was their first celebration of being valued as a woman. Thank you to CURE International Hospital for allowing this day to be possible and for making this day a huge success and encouragement to the women of our hospital and future leaders of Afghanistan.
The girl’s large belly did not fit her little 12-year-old body. And it came out of nowhere. One day, Kubra was healthy; the next day, everything started to change for the worse.
Kubra’s family were at a loss, perplexed and extremely worried by the sudden change in the child. They knew they had to get her to a hospital fast.
Aware of its stellar reputation, Kubra’s father and grandfather took her to the CURE Kabul hospital, hoping for an answer.
After she was admitted, the CURE specialists documented the girl’s symptoms and conducted a bone marrow biopsy to diagnose her sickness.
The biopsy soon provided Kubra’s family with a grim answer – she had a fatal disease called visceral leishmaniasis. Sandflies transmit this parasitic disease, which spread into Kubra’s spleen, liver, and bone marrow. The girl would die if she wasn’t treated right away. Thankfully, her family had acted in time.
CURE began immediate treatment, placing Kubra on intravenous medication for a month.
After conducting a repeat biopsy, CURE has declared Kubra free of her visceral leishmaniasis. This girl cannot stop smiling because she feels so much better.
Kubra and her family are very grateful to CURE Kabul for the answers and help it provided in their time of worry and uncertainty. Kubra came to just the right place at just the right time.
Lemoyne, Pa.; Schaumburg, Ill.; and Merrifield, Va.; August 23, 2010: Motorola, CARE and CURE International today announced that the Motorola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Motorola, is donating funds totaling $200,000 to the two aid organizations to support education and healthcare programs in Afghanistan.
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