18126: (Hermantin) Sun-Sentinel-Heart-felt support helps Haitian boy recover... (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Heart-felt support helps Haitian boy recover far from home

By Brian Feldman
Special Correspondent
Posted January 26 2004

Orphaned at age 5 in the poorest neighborhoods of his native Haiti, Phares
Duverne had the break of a lifetime because family and friends helped him
grow up.

Now Duverne, 32, and his wife, Josette, 31, are caregivers themselves,
helping a 7-year-old Haitian boy, Guerlyn Timothe, recover from delicate
heart surgery.


Dr. Richard Perryman, director of pediatric cardiac surgery at Joe DiMaggio
Children's Hospital, performed the surgery for free. Assisting him in the
pro bono effort were pediatric cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, pediatric
intensive care specialists, pediatric anesthesiologists and a skilled
pediatric Intensive Care Unit nursing team.

It's payback time for Duverne, for the kindnesses and help he received as a
youth, and Perryman, who has been giving back since he finished medical
school because "it's something I like to do," he said.

Duverne is a former journalist who has been living in the United States
since diplomats helped him flee Haiti two years ago after his writing and
broadcasting got him in trouble with the government.

While waiting in a North Miami doctor's office, he overheard a social worker
ask whether the doctor knew anyone to care for a Haitian boy about to
undergo open-heart surgery.

"I'm somebody," Duverne said.

For six weeks after the surgery, the Duvernes spent time with Guerlyn in the
hospital. Acting as surrogate parents, they nurtured him, reassured him in
his native Creole, and coaxed him to eat and drink.

Duverne took a week off from his computer consulting and service company to
remain at Guerlyn's side. "I would have done it if it were my own child," he
said.

Now the Duvernes are tending to Guerlyn at the North Miami home they share
with their own three children. Guerlyn will go home when doctors feel he's
well enough.

When Guerlyn was 5, he started kindergarten in Haiti, making the daily long
walk to school. After five months, he became weak, unable to play or run.
Walking even 10 steps left him bent over, struggling for his next breath.
His father often would carry him on his shoulders. Finally, Guerlyn stopped
going to school because he could no longer handle the walk.

The group Partners With Haiti contacted a good Samaritan who agreed to pay
for a medical exam. Guerlyn's exam revealed a deformed pulmonary valve, a
hole between the two lower chambers of his heart, a thickened right
ventricle and a displaced aorta. As a result, the blood circulating through
his body had insufficient oxygen, causing him to turn blue after exertion.

Despite the diagnosis and poor prognosis for Guerlyn's survival, it took a
year for a network of concerned people to find a way to bring him here for
treatment. In April, the network learned of the Rotary Gift of Life Program
Florida. Gift of Life contacted Perryman, who agreed to work for free. Joe
DiMaggio agreed to accept a token $5,000 for its participation.

Perryman, of Hollywood, credits the Duvernes and their loving care as
critical elements in Guerlyn's recovery.

"It reduces stress and gives him the security of hearing from someone from
home, and that is very important," he said.

"I have always understood that in order for you to grow in life, you are
going to have help," Duverne said, "I was an orphan in my country, but
because people cared and gave me a little chance, I got an opportunity to
become someone. I thought when I heard about this boy, if he is sick, I have
the chance of a lifetime to give him the chance to become someone in the
future."

Do you have a recent story of hope? Have you overcome adversity in raising a
family, been involved in a rescue or beaten the odds medically? Contact
Steve Plunkett at splunkett@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4775.      Email
story










Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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