A Deanna Update

Do you remember in January when I did THIS post about little Deanna from Limes and her need for a prosthetic eye?  Well, I haven't forgotten about her.  How could I? I see that sweet little face every week in class.  But I didn't want to update everyone until the whole story was complete.

Here are a few pictures of sweet Deanna from when we first met.  Most of us volunteers call her Dede.

 

Fairly soon after my last post about Deanna and her need to travel to the USA for an eye procedure, we found out that unfortunately, the doctor in Florida decided to bail from the case.  It is still unknown exactly why the doctor did so, but it was of course a huge blow to all of us, the least of which was Jill, Deanna's mother.  And so began a process of trying to find an alternative method to fixing the problem. 

We were in the beginning stages of seeking out a second doctor when low and behold, an SO's mother who just HAPPENS to be a pediatric opthamologist and just HAPPENED to be coming to Grenada during the first week of February stepped forward to help.  She looked at pictures of Deanna and thought from pictures that what Deanna really needed was a prosthetic eye.  A mold would need to be done and taken to the US where an ocularist could then create a prosthetic eye to match that of Deanna's other eye.

Everything kind of fell into place and I know that it was definitely a God thing.

So in February, I took Dede and Jill to the clinic at SGU where a magnificent doctor and her trusty sidekick optometrist turned medical student John helped make a mold of Deanna's eye.  It wasn't a particularly fun experience.  At 1 and a half years old, Dede wasn't exactly thrilled to have people shoving putty into her eye, but she did really well all things considered.

Me, Jill, Dede, Dr. C, and John (The Grenada Team)

 Dr. C also brought down a "spacer" for Deanna's eye.  A plastic cup that is inserted into her eye socket to start holding the space for her prosthesis.  This way, she could start getting used to something being there.  Here's Dede at Limes with her spacer in over the last month.

  
This past week, we finally received the new prosthesis.  We arranged to meet at the clinic again and poor Dede already knew what was coming.  The moment we walked into the clinic she immediately covered her eye and started crying.  I didn't take any pictures at the clinic because she was so upset and we needed all the help we could get to hold her down to put in the prosthetic.  It wasn't easy, but we finally did it.

Yesterday at Limes marked the culmination of a long but very fufilling process.  Deanna came out to Limes yesterday and though there is a little swelling from the insertion process, I think it would be very hard to tell that this little girl's eye is not real if you didn't already know otherwise.  Yes, something looks a little off.  It won't ever be perfect.  But I know that her life has been forever changed.  Her mom can send her to school without worrying so much that she will be teased and she is now at a much lower risk for infection.  I love that I was blessed with the opportunity to be a little part of this process and I love that I get to spend afternoons every week with this child and all the other precious Limes children.

This post would not be complete without a huge thank you to all that were involved, specifically Amber Gazo, Kelsey Coghill, Dr. C, Cat Alford, and John Martinelli.  This was not only a team effort, but a multi-country effort!  I wish that all of you could be here to see her. 

To everyone that donated money to this cause, most of the money was used to pay the ocularist for the prosthetic eye in Louisiana.  Custom made prosthetics are pricey!  And actually, we paid for two!  Deanna's cousin Kylie has the same exact problem. And we were able to help her as well.  So I just want to say thank you.  We couldn't have made this happen without all of your support.

Me, Kylie, and mom Cindy.  Can you tell which one is the prosthetic?

These little girls stories aren't finished.  As they grow, new prosthetics will have to be made and those of us inolved will do what we can to help see that through, but for now we are very happy with the outcome.  It's a good day when you can so drastically help to change someone's, or two someone's lives for the better.

Independence Day...

...Grenadian Style.

Today marked Grenada's 38 year anniversary of independence.  And I don't know if it's because Grenada's years of independence are relatively few, or if it's because people have a serious love and pride in their country, but either way, these people know how to ROCK independence day.  I've never seen so much red, yellow, and green in one place.

And ya know what?  I live in Grenada.  I think by default that makes me "Grenadian" this year.  So I celebrated with them, just the way the locals do.

Julie and I and a bunch of my SO friends went up to the National Stadium in St. George's to take part in the Independence Day festivities, complete with men on stilts, dancing, the Royal Police Force, the Prime Minister, and paratroopers landing amid the crowd

Red, Yellow, and Green from Head to Toe

They stood in their uniforms for almost two hours.  At least 7 people passed out and were taken by stretcher off the field.  Apparently, this is normal. -TIG

A sea of red, yellow, and green.

And we ran into one of my favorite Limes families amid the crowd.  Remember Deanna?  Well this is her mother Jill, and older sisters Jivy and Brianna.  They were decked out in their Grenadian best and I just couldn't get enough of them all.

Jill, Deanna, Jivona, Brianna

They are stunning right?

 The show ended with parachuters falling from the sky onto the stadium field.  Oh yea, and a rainbow.  This is Grenada afterall.

Happy 38th Independence Day Grenada!

Coming soon...

...to a campus near you.

An Eye For Deanna

I've had so many friends and family ask me how they can personally help with the Limes Program and the children of Grenada from a distance.  Some have been able to send supplies, there have been monetary donations, and others have given their support through prayer.  All of these things have been a blessing to me and the Limes Program.  I can't even begin to explain how humbling it has been to have friends, family, and people I have barely been in contact with in the past 10 years come forward to try and help with what myself and many others have been trying to accomplish on this island. 

But, if you have been wondering what can I do? How can I help?  Well, here's your chance.  One of the Grenadian families heavily involved in the Limes Program has a little girl named Deanna who was born without an eye.  As she has grown, the socket has begun to be exposed and the chance of infection continues to become a bigger risk.  A group of Doctors in Miami, FL has agreed to operate on little Deanna pro-bono but Deanna's family has very little money and cannot afford the travel expenses to get there.  We are attempting to raise $5,000.00 to help the family cover flights and hotel costs associated with the surgery.  Please consider donating some money toward this cause.  No amount of money is too little and you are helping to completely change this little girl's life.

Deanna

THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN SET UP FOR DEANNA.  The money is going into a bank account set up for her and when we raise the money, we will withdraw it and give it to the family to use for the travel costs.

For any SGU students wanting to help, there will also be a box at the Subway on campus taking donations for Deanna.  Drop your change in after getting a sandwich or stop by just to put a few EC in.  Every little bit helps!

Thanks to everyone who has helped support the Limes Program.  You have no idea the impact you are making on these precious children.