by Pam Tucker with photos from the Mamaroneck United Methodist group
(March 7, 2005) Thirty-one members of the Mamaroneck United Methodist
Church flew to Nicaragua on February 19 for a week of activities that
ranged from constructing walls to shoring up health, education and art
programs at the El Auyudante orphanage site near Leon. Pastor Javier
Viera and Assistant Pastor Jennifer Morrow led the group of 8 youths
and 23 adults, ranging in age from 13 to 78.
Most
of the group spent the majority of the visit alongside a Nicaraguan
construction team building a cement block wall at one end of the site
and painting orphanage classrooms. They picked up a variety of new skills,
like cement mixing and bricklaying.
Another group, led by New Rochelle High School art teacher Grace Powers
Fraioli, conducted art programs in several schools. The visitors shared
a variety of art materials and techniques with eager children at schools
at the prekindergarten, elementary, and middle school levels.
Judith
Sedaitis, Joanna Lord, Anne Herman, and Javier Viera confer at
the Team House construction site.
Nutritionist Marion Groetch, and RN Paula Meighan held workshops on
maternal, infant, and reproductive health. “Although there is so
much that the local mother's can't control, we wanted to provide education
so they could be more empowered to take charge of what they could control,” said
Marion Groetch. “We taught strategies for preventing illness, treating
illness, feeding their children well with the foods available. This is
what we could offer. It's hard to see hunger and illness and not be able
to make it go away immediately."
In addition to the clinic work, the two treated some patients who were
affected by a sudden viral epidemic that sickened 27,000 Nicaraguans and
killed 25 children that week.
Pdiatrist Charles Morelli examines
a diabetic patient with a foot problem.
Charles Morelli, a Mamaroneck podiatrist, organized
the donation of thousands of dollars worth of health supplies and during
his time in Nicaragua consulted with, and performed surgery on patients
at the Leon Hospital. He found all the activities, including the construction
work on the orphanage, rewarding “on many levels,” and said, “ It
made me appreciate what we have here in the United States more than ever,
and thankful that I am part of a profession that is able to help so many."
Lunch programs at schools, grocery donations to needy families, and
music programs at senior centers were also part of the week’s activities.
In addition to the above mentioned participants, other attendees included
Cathy Sullivan, Kevin Sowerby, Henry Hobbs, Dan and James Heldridge,
Lori and Liz Pisani, Amy Brelia, Bruce and Graham Meighan, Joanna Lord,
Scott and Daniel Dieter, Coralie Joseph, Anne Herman, Judith Sedaitis,
Danius and Simas Glinskis, John, Lauren, and Evan Groetch, Pam Tucker,
Tad, Gracie and Jim Philipp.
This was the first trip to Central American for many in the group, and
the first trip to Nicaragua for all of the participants. They were impressed
with the natural beauty of the country as well as the warmth and friendliness
of their Nicaraguan hosts. A return trip in 2006 is already being planned.
Nicaraguan children with Judith Sedaitis
of Mamaroneck (in hat) and an El Ayudante staff member.
For more information on the El Ayudante Orphanage project in Leon, or
the Mamaroneck United Methodist Church, please call 698-4343.
Poor Nicaraguans gather at the
city dump to participate in a worship service and be given lunch, sacks
of sugar, coffee, beans and rice so they can feed themselves during the
coming week.
from Charles Morelli with photos from the Mamaroneck United Methodist group
(March 15, 2006) For the second year in a row the Mamaroneck United Methodist Church sponsored a week of good will and good works in Nicaragua. Twenty-two parishioners and friends, ranging in age from 12 to 60, flew down on February 17th with Pastor Javier Viera and Associate Pastor Jennifer Morrow. The group divided their time between two locations: the El Ayudante orphanage and community in Leon, where they had worked last year, and a small village outside of Reparto Sor Maria Romero, near Matagalpa. (See: Good Will & Good Works I )
Amy Brelia hauls loads of cement (left) while Scott Dieter oversees members of the MUMC youth group while they clean the property surrounding the medical clinic in Leon.
While in Leon, the team began painting the exterior walls of the medical clinic that serves the women and children of the Ruben Dario community. Another group, led by Carol Cauley, Cathy Sullivan and Jeanne Obando, shared their artistic talents (and the art supplies that many had donated) with the children at El Ayudante and Matagalpa. Teen members of the group worked with the children on activities such as arts and crafts, games, reading and music appreciation. Christine Piccora captivated the children by sharing her extraordinary musical talents on the flute. All members of the group got “down and dirty” working construction on a Community Center that will provide two meals a day to 400 hundred children and their families.
Nurse practitioner, Susan Orand, devoted much of her time to educating local doctors and health practitioners regarding reproductive health and the importance of early detection for cervical cancer. “I was in absolute shock at the degree of poverty and the limited availability of medical care. It saddened and angered me, and will motivate me to return again. I was in awe of the people and their warmth.
Podiatrist Charles Morelli demonstrates surgical techniques to members of the orthopedic department while performing foot surgery.
Dr. Charles Morelli, a Mamaroneck podiatrist, organized the donation of over $162,000.00 worth of health supplies through the generosity of the Catholic Medical Missions Board. For the second year, he performed surgery on patients at HEODRA Hospital in Leon, despite a national doctor’s strike already in its third month. “As a volunteer, I was allowed to work and see patients, despite the strike. There was a fine line between crossing a picket line and respecting the demands of the other doctors, but exceptions were made for life and death emergencies and humanitarian efforts.”
In addition to the above mentioned participants, other attendees included Kimberly and Jeanne Lightbody, Charles Courwen, Bruce Cauley, Kevin Sowerby, Amy Brelia, Scott and Daniel Dieter, Caitlin Morelli, Kerry Goodacre, John and Evan Groetch, Gracie Philipp and Alan Borst.
Children from the Matagalpa region get ready to play musical chairs, while John Grotch leads team members Charles Courwen , Christine Piccora and Kimberly Lightbody in a well deserved rest.
This was the second trip to Nicaragua for some in the group, and the first trip for many of the others. “ Returning to Nicaragua again this year was a tremendous privilege,” said Pastor Morrow. “Trips like this one are no respecters of personal boundaries or comfort zones. They break right through and expose much in the world and our very selves that is in need of change.”
The participants saw first hand the devastation left by hurricane Mitch in 1998 and the lingering destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Nicaragua in 1992. “I’m convinced,” said Rev. Viera, “that there is no work more important than serving those in greatest need in our community and beyond. The suffering and the hope present that is a part of daily life in Nicaragua is why we return each year.” A trip for 2007 is already being planned.
For more information on the El Ayudante Orphanage project in Leon, or the Mamaroneck United Methodist Church, please call 698-4343 or visit their web site at www.nicamissions.com
Typical homes that pepper the Nicaraguan landscape (top) and the people who live there.
(March 27, 2008) The fourth humanitarian journey from Mamaroneck
to Leon, Nicaragua began at JFK airport on February 15 at 3:18 am. Two
doctors, Charles Morelli from Mamaroneck and Jeffrey Siegel from Philadelphia
teamed with 11 parishioners from the United Methodist Church of Mamaroneck.
The doctors’ mission was to provide medical and surgical attention
to as many underserved children and adults as possible in the week they
would be at the HEODRA 400-bed teaching hospital in Leon.
Dr. Morelli, a podiatrist and podiatric surgeon, provided the following
report on his work with Dr. Siegel treating a diversity of neglected congenital
and acquired limb deformities, as well as birth defects:
On Saturday, we evaluated 35 patients and scheduled 23 surgeries. Our
days were grueling, our skills were challenged and again, my life was
changed forever.
Our days began at 5 am, when we were awakened by the cacophony of “cock-a-doodle-doo”
by every rooster in Central America. A sound I now miss. We started work
at 7 am providing lectures to the orthopedic residents and medical staff
at HEODRA as they are starved for up-to-date information. Surgical cases
began at 8 am and ran all day. We made rounds and left the hospital by
8 pm. We returned to the compound, ate, showered, called home and were
sleeping by 10 pm.
Drs. Morelli and Siegel gave a lecture on foot
surgery to the orthopedic residents at HEODRA Hospital.
The poster-child for our trip was Willie: A little 7-year-old boy with
severe lower leg and foot deformities. He underwent clubfoot surgery at
7 months of age that resulted in over-correction. His deformities went
untreated which, over his short life, literally destroyed the growth plates
in his ankles and affected the curvature of his legs. His feet were translated
laterally and he was forced to walk on his ankles. The surgery to realign
his foot took 3-1/2 hours and was performed without the benefit of intra-operative
fluoroscopy. The result should enable him to bear weight on the bottom
of his foot so he will not have to resort to walking on his ankle bone.
Willie is a brave little boy who has no parents, and is being raised
by his five brothers. He exemplifies the purpose and the mission of this
trip, and is why we do this type of work. Willie touched our lives and
hearts and we continue to pray for him.
Dr. Jeffrey Seigel helped correct severe
deformities
to one child's legs and feet.
The El Ayudante staff, medical personnel at HEODRA and the people of Leon
were warm, gracious and enthusiastic about our volunteer efforts. As we
departed, I felt this overwhelming sense of gratitude that I again was
able to use the skills that God had blessed me with.
Equipped with five oversized suitcases stuffed with over $300,000.00
of medical supplies that so many companies graciously donated, we were
able utilize these tools to serve these terribly impoverished people.
This was a very successful and productive trip that could not have been
possible without the assistance and surgical skills of Dr. Jeffrey Siegel
and the support of our vendors and financial donors. We are looking forward
to next year.
It was 17 degrees with 40 inches of snow and brutal, stinging, mind-numbing cold in Mamaroneck on February 12. When we landed in Nicaragua six hours later, it was 94 degrees, hot, sticky and humid. Mosquitoes were circling. "Welcome to Central America," Dr. Jeffrey Siegel and I thought to ourselves as we prepared for four days of intensive surgeries at the local teaching hospital in Leon, Nicaragua.
While some would be continuing work on the school, church and community center begun last year in the nearby village of Carlos Fonseca, Dr. Siegel and I would be based at Hospital Escuela Oscar Danilo Rosales Arguello (HEODRA).
Unbeknownst to us, the orthopedic residents and attendings at HEODRA had been saving their patients with the most severe limb deformities all year for us.
Mission Not Quite Impossible
Our mission was to provide medical advice and restorative reconstructive surgery to as many children and adults as possible in four days. This proved to be a daunting endeavor. During 6 hours of triage on our first day, we evaluated 54 patients and 15 diabetic limb salvage cases and scheduled 30 surgeries.
The most difficult part of this process for us was deciding who not to operate on. Dr. Siegel had to say no to two mothers whose babies had severe cerebral palsy. The children did not walk and both had club foot.
Every year, tears fill the parent's eyes as we try to explain why their babies are not surgical candidates. The babies have so many problems, and all the parents want is for their babies to look normal. Saying no is the part of our job we don't like.
This year, we said yes to two additional trauma cases, including a 17-year-old boy who got his leg caught in a corn de-husker. He had an open fracture from his mid leg to his big toe.
Dr. Morelli and Dr. Seigel were able to save Kevin's foot and leg.
Strict Schedule
5 am sharp on our second day at the hospital: Scores of roosters, dogs and birds wake us up — again. As I roll over, I feel my arms for new mosquito bites. I'm bringing a net next year.
7 am: An hour of resident lectures is followed by 12 hours of surgery from 8 am to 8 pm for the next 4 days straight.
Dr. Jeffrey Siegel, volunteer Amie Miles and Dr. Charles Morelli
Two Poster Children
My "poster child" this year was Kevin, the boy who decided to move the blades of a corn harvester with his foot. Dr. Siegel and I were upstairs in the operating room when Kevin came into the emergency room. We brought him immediately into surgery for a 3 hour debridement and application of an external fixator to stabilize the foot and ankle. He had lost a considerable amount of bone and soft tissue, but we were able to save his leg.
Now, two weeks later, we have heard Kevin is stable and, so far, his prognosis appears to be good. Perhaps God does intervene? I believe if we were not there at that exact moment, Kevin's leg would have been amputated.
Among the cases treated was this massive bone tumor: Osteochondroma
Dr. Siegel’s “poster child” this year was Jelleser, who he described as “a beautiful, shy 9-year-old girl with a left clubfoot.” He applied three external fixation frames, including a 5-ring Ilizarov frame for a complete fusion of the ankle and midfoot joints.
Dr. Siegel recalled, “The evening after her operation, while we were making rounds, Jelleser said in perfect English, ‘Thank you very much for helping me to walk.’ She exemplifies the purpose of our mission and why we do this type of work. It was a week I will never forget.”
We treated a large variety of pathology including a massive bone tumor (above) and numerous rare congenital defects. All treatment was done without the benefit of intra-operative x-rays or fluoroscopy.
This external fixator was applied to the patient's 4th metatarsal to lengthen it over a period of two weeks.
We Had Help
Our success is the direct result of the generosity of our sponsors. I want to thank: Vilex Inc., who donated a complete set of power equipment and surgical hardware for this mission; Arthrex Orthopedics for their bio-absorbable anchors; and Ortho-Fix for the external fixators. Thanks also to Kay Jeweler's for their donation of Colby plush stuffed animals. Dr. Siegel was sponsored by Musculoskeletal Transport Foundation; Stryker; Orthofix; SBI; SOTA; Stephen Masseri, MD; Hand and Orthopedics Physical Therapy; Summerton Physical Therapy; NovaCare and both of his hospitals, Aria Health Care and Lower Bucks Hospital.
My life changes every year. As I reflect on this year's trip, I am deeply humbled and grateful for the opportunity to be of service.
(May 25, 2006) Dr. Charles Morelli, a Mamaroneck resident and podiatrist, has been collecting shoes for a long time. (See: Local Drive to Collect ?Shoes for the Needy?) Now he’s putting out an extra call for more shoes – in particular new and used children’s shoes – and he’s trying to collect as many as he can before June 10. The shoes are not for him, or for his patients, but for a poor community in Guatemala served by Pastor Rafi Agrait.
Dr. Morelli writes in a brochure he sent to the Gazette and elsewhere, Pastor Agrait’s “ministry is in Guatemala and I had the good fortune of meeting him a few years ago when I began collecting shoes. Since then, he has been making an annual visit to the New York area in order to collect as many donated items as he can physically find, and carry.” Dr. Morelli shared the following letter from Pastor Agrait:
God Bless
Hi Dr. Morelli
The shoes you gave me last year were a blessing for so many kits as well as adults. I not much to ask you can you collect some more shoes; but only for kits this time, they will be distributed in a rural area close to where we are going to build an small building with steel columns and a roof but no walls for open air services. I will show you some new pictures when I see you. I'm leaving by the 10 of June if the shoe drive can be a reality please let me know. Thanks
May God keep blessing you and your family and the ministrie God have put in your hands.
Cordially Yours,
Pastor Rafi Agrait
As time is growing short, Dr. Morelli is urging donations be brought as soon as possible to his office at 910 Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck. For more information, call his office at 835-6604.
Most
of the group spent the majority of the visit alongside a Nicaraguan
construction team building a cement block wall at one end of the site
and painting orphanage classrooms. They picked up a variety of new skills,
like cement mixing and bricklaying.
