Ukraine JHI Pediatric Healthcare Mission tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-07:/blog/?domain=lea 2009-06-14T23:28:35Z LeaStoneB img/travel-blog-feed.png Under then over tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-17:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=11&entryid=161438 2009-06-14T23:12:28Z 2009-05-17T09:15:10Z Since I have no idea when I last updated, and I'm now sitting in Kiev, waiting for my flight to New York-I'll just account for the last 24 hours or so. Yesterday we had a day off (kind of). We went by Magic Bus to the catacombs outside Odessa city. We had a tour of the underground museum where the dissenting party from the Nazis built an underground city. The catacombs crawl beneath the city outskirts and all the way to ... Since I have no idea when I last updated, and I'm now sitting in Kiev, waiting for my flight to New York-I'll just account for the last 24 hours or so.

Yesterday we had a day off (kind of). We went by Magic Bus to the catacombs outside Odessa city. We had a tour of the underground museum where the dissenting party from the Nazis built an underground city. The catacombs crawl beneath the city outskirts and all the way to the center.

People built a hospital, water well, radio room, artillery room and bedrooms underneath the city by carving out circuitous tunnels in the limetone beneath. It was freezing down there, very narrow and dark. There were inscriptions on the wall from the 'party line' and carvings like in a cave. Eventually, there were battles underground too. The partisans won in the end but many did not live to see Victory Day. Those that died are buried down there-creepy.

Above ground, we had a walking tour of Odessa's port and famous boulevard, Potamkin steps and famous buildings. We stopped a few times for photos, coffee and to gaze at the Black Sea.

We saw a lot of new developments, luxury apartments, renovations etc. I'm sure it will all look very different in a year.

Back to the hotel to rest-and out for an early dinner with the mission coordinators. Although the pace of dinner was slow due to translations, we got a lot of work done in that beautiful room. There was a built-in bookshelf and old fashioned appliances (thermometer, fan, calculators). We gave and received gifts...ask me about the ones I got sometime.

We met with volunteers (Dina and Sol) back at our hotel after a long stroll down the boulevard at night (with Nicolay of course, our strongman!) they shared their work they've done for the past year in Odessa by photo-hard lives to see, the people are truly living in another world.

Time to fly up!

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]]> Chabadniks at night tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-16:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=10&entryid=161364 2009-06-14T23:15:26Z 2009-05-16T14:26:37Z We were at one of the two only functioning synagogues in Odessa last night. Despite having a Jewish population of nearly 40% of the population of the city in the past and approximately 70 synagogues...there we were! Needless to say we saw many people we had seen before. There a few incidental consultations there-a child that had just had a rather large seizure (the whole congregation seemed concerned for him) and another that was losing/pulling her hair. There was a men's choir ... We were at one of the two only functioning synagogues in Odessa last night. Despite having a Jewish population of nearly 40% of the population of the city in the past and approximately 70 synagogues...there we were!

Needless to say we saw many people we had seen before. There a few incidental consultations there-a child that had just had a rather large seizure (the whole congregation seemed concerned for him) and another that was losing/pulling her hair.

There was a men's choir there from Zurich who sang on the beema for about forty minutes before the service started. Thank goodness for Valerie (our translator) for helping understand it all!

Nicokay (our security) luckily was there to take us home-safely.

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]]> Yes we have no bananas tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-16:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=9&entryid=161362 2009-05-22T19:51:06Z 2009-05-16T14:19:29Z Out and about in Odessa yesterday, after numerous consultations-the team split and we tirelessly worked separately hoping to see as many patients as possible at the children's rehabilitation center. They had a lot of wonderful people working there, dedicated parents and wonderful resources. Interesting diagnoses that came through included spinal bifida, autism, hip dysplasia and cerebral palsy, epilepsy and pituitary tumor. A lunch was held in our honor at HESED the Jewish Federation's center...older folks that sang for us. Old Yiddish songs and ... Out and about in Odessa yesterday, after numerous consultations-the team split and we tirelessly worked separately hoping to see as many patients as possible at the children's rehabilitation center.

They had a lot of wonderful people working there, dedicated parents and wonderful resources.

Interesting diagnoses that came through included spinal bifida, autism, hip dysplasia and cerebral palsy, epilepsy and pituitary tumor.

A lunch was held in our honor at HESED the Jewish Federation's center...older folks that sang for us. Old Yiddish songs and prayers for the Sabbath. It was touching!

More consultations in the back office at HESED-and a rest at the hotel (whew!). Followed by a walk around the center boulevard/shopping.

We picked out flowers there to give to the Rabbi and his wife.IMG_3253.jpg

Yes we have no bananas remains copyright of the author LeaStoneB, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Jewish Museum tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-13:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=8&entryid=161107 2009-06-14T23:19:59Z 2009-05-13T20:09:35Z There was a Jewish Heritage museum across the street from the Hesed building. Misha gave a walking tour of the artifacts there (some of it looked like my parent's house, I gotta say). Many tracings of famous Jews in Odessa, reprints and archeological findings of Jewish signs and symbols that were uncovered-absolutely astounding. We were lucky to have a private tour-and Misha took out some things to let us handle them. Ask me the joke about the Moyle's watch! Photos available soon! We are ... There was a Jewish Heritage museum across the street from the Hesed building. Misha gave a walking tour of the artifacts there (some of it looked like my parent's house, I gotta say).

Many tracings of famous Jews in Odessa, reprints and archeological findings of Jewish signs and symbols that were uncovered-absolutely astounding. We were lucky to have a private tour-and Misha took out some things to let us handle them.

Ask me the joke about the Moyle's watch!

Photos available soon!

We are tired..did I mention our hotel is superb! Needless to say, I haven't seen much of the city yet-we'll get to it-right?

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]]> Today-Day Two tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-13:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=7&entryid=161105 2009-06-14T23:21:22Z 2009-05-13T20:01:36Z Sooo tired, we met for breakfast and loaded up on coffee. We quickly made our way to the Chabad House, a religious school for Jewish Children to attend. Setting up rather quickly in a gorgeous computer overlooking a flower filled playground, parents and children were shuffled in (sometimes with a friend of the family, sometimes an aunt or teacher with complaints). Incontinence, migraines and low height and weight were some of the more mundane cases we saw, along with "I am healthy, but ... Sooo tired, we met for breakfast and loaded up on coffee.

We quickly made our way to the Chabad House, a religious school for Jewish Children to attend.

Setting up rather quickly in a gorgeous computer overlooking a flower filled playground, parents and children were shuffled in (sometimes with a friend of the family, sometimes an aunt or teacher with complaints).

Incontinence, migraines and low height and weight were some of the more mundane cases we saw, along with "I am healthy, but my mom wanted me to be checked by the doctor."

We saw a set of twins with Tourette's Syndrome and a few young ones that had scoliosis.

Off to lunch at a lovely, kosher restaurant (where was that place? and those dumplings were just what we were looking for!)

Of course, a religious family asked the Dr. to check their baby right there in the restaurant, but he was finished in time to eat his Borscht-the baby was healthy.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Hesed House

Amazing stuff here-a very large boy, possibly ballooned from steriods and essential tremor, we suspected that he was exposed to something (alcohol? medication?) but it wasn't clear and since dad's symptomology kept changing, and the documentation was so unclear (vertebrae, skin problem, headache, gall stone, bile overproduction)....we didn't know what to make of that.

Allergies, obesity and twisted testes, enlarged kidneys and urinary tract infection....

We found a VERY RARE syndrome called Proteus Syndrome which we documented like crazy and we are still sitting in the business center talking about-since it was absolutely fascinating.

We saw a little girl with stroke, brain bleed and shunt. 3 years and a half, still not walking, talking, chewing or speaking. There were some tear jerkers in there, but lots of families that were very glad to see some real help-with some real solutions.IMG_3261.jpg

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]]> Day One-I left out lunch tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-13:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=6&entryid=161104 2009-06-14T23:24:13Z 2009-05-13T19:52:16Z Our van broke down, so we took three separate cars to the "Warm House" where a group of very warm, Jewish elderly folks had put together a luncheon with music that they both played and sang. As the accordian blared and four singers in full regalia from their days in the military belted out nationalist songs...we ate herring and beets and sardines and other weird things that were essentially-weird. It was the celebration of Victory Day for which they were awarding ... Our van broke down, so we took three separate cars to the "Warm House" where a group of very warm, Jewish elderly folks had put together a luncheon with music that they both played and sang. As the accordian blared and four singers in full regalia from their days in the military belted out nationalist songs...we ate herring and beets and sardines and other weird things that were essentially-weird.

It was the celebration of Victory Day for which they were awarding their compatriates for their participation of emancipating the state of Ukraine-little orange and black striped ribbons were pinned onto us and sure enough...Shalom Alechem was being sung by all of us.

A token of this day is to give 100mL of vodka...which we received-and tried not to take advantage of, it was only lunchtime!

Day One-I left out lunch remains copyright of the author LeaStoneB, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Day One tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-13:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=5&entryid=161103 2009-06-14T23:24:59Z 2009-05-13T19:45:13Z What did we see??? Wow! Children in the Reznick Center, Dr. Weisleder and I saw four complicated cases-endocrine-ology, respiratory, cranial and failure to thrive among other inquisitions and readouts. We also did consultations at Bayteainu-a program for Jewish children to attend day school or after school in a positive Jewish environment-they had some attendees there that had special needs and we met with the children and their parents.[img=http://photos.travellerspoint.com/209926/IMG ... What did we see???

Wow!

Children in the Reznick Center, Dr. Weisleder and I saw four complicated cases-endocrine-ology, respiratory, cranial and failure to thrive among other inquisitions and readouts.

We also did consultations at Bayteainu-a program for Jewish children to attend day school or after school in a positive Jewish environment-they had some attendees there that had special needs and we met with the children and their parents.IMG_3249.jpgIMG_3259.jpg

In true style, we saw a variety of severity, with a variety of information (some had write-ups from their doctors, some had nothing and just parent report, some...even the parent was unwilling to report...read: I can't talk about that)

In each case, the Dr. collected pertinent information, discussed with the parent the primary concerns and possible origins of the problem and the OT, PT and I would give some suggestions about work, exercises and ideas to help their children in their day to day life.

We saw epileptics, autism and ataxia second to stroke.

Needless to say, some parents were more accepting than others. Some cases were more sensitive than others and we were careful to explain things to them in a way that was clear...concise and hopefully it was translated appropriately.

The children were given gifts...chocolate and Israeli flags (unless their teeth were bad...then they got pens).
I dropped party blowers and colored straws at Bayteinu for their birthday parties.

Thanks to Sol and Dina for translating and making it fun!

Day One remains copyright of the author LeaStoneB, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Day One tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-13:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=4&entryid=161102 2009-06-14T23:26:47Z 2009-05-13T19:33:22Z I woke and went to breakfast in the hotel and met my team. Naomi (Occupational Therapy), Hemda (Physical therapy) and Pedro (pediatrician). We ate and were greeted by the Irina, Valerie and Nicolay with the van in the morning. 9am JDC (Joint Distribution Commision) where we were oriented to the Hesed mission and the funding allocations for Jewish sponsored programs in Ukraine. Welfare, homecare and medicine is distributed to the Jewish Community in Ukraine where Dr. Nelli is the leader of ... I woke and went to breakfast in the hotel and met my team. Naomi (Occupational Therapy), Hemda (Physical therapy) and Pedro (pediatrician). We ate and were greeted by the Irina, Valerie and Nicolay with the van in the morning.

9am JDC (Joint Distribution Commision) where we were oriented to the Hesed mission and the funding allocations for Jewish sponsored programs in Ukraine. Welfare, homecare and medicine is distributed to the Jewish Community in Ukraine where Dr. Nelli is the leader of all medical programs.

The JDC distributes funds restituted by the German government (if you don't know why..ask a Jew), Swiss banks, German banks and various American Federations. Local contacts also sometimes fund programs for which all Ghetto survivors and "righteous gentiles" are all supported.

There is more!

There were 70 synagogues in all of Odessa, now there are two.

There are four organizations developed in Odessa for Jews of various involvement. Chabad, Litvaks, Migdal JCC and Hillel. There is also a Hesed (welfare) building that is as pristine and spacious as any JCC! Many of these programs have an office here.

Of course, there is more to this story that meets the eye...and we are finding out the underpinnings of these prgrams and how they are utilized as we go.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Reznick Diagnostic Center

-Established 13 years ago and expanded only four years ago, this diagnostic "hospital" is primarily used to diagnose difficult cases, define clinical tactics for follow-up at a local center.

The diagnostic hospital has only 20 inpatient beds and sees up to 300 children per day. There is a separate neonatal unit and a separate cardiac/gastroenterology unit at the Medical University.

The institution is state funded, and no client has to pay-though donations are encouraged.
They may be referred to a private institution if it is established that the family can afford payment to allow patients that cannot afford it be seen.

Day One remains copyright of the author LeaStoneB, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> 20-some odd hours to Odessa tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-13:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=3&entryid=161101 2009-06-14T23:28:35Z 2009-05-13T19:17:27Z After battling traffic on the LIE, I made it to my flight (almost 9 hours from JFK to KIEV). I sat next to Gregory, a nice Ukrainian man that lives in Hicksville, Long Island-go figure. He was nice enough to chat with me for a few hours and show me Ukaraine money (grivna) and tell me a bit about Odessa. We had dinner on the plane-Remember when they served meals on the plane? I slept for about 6 of the nine ... After battling traffic on the LIE, I made it to my flight (almost 9 hours from JFK to KIEV). I sat next to Gregory, a nice Ukrainian man that lives in Hicksville, Long Island-go figure. He was nice enough to chat with me for a few hours and show me Ukaraine money (grivna) and tell me a bit about Odessa. We had dinner on the plane-Remember when they served meals on the plane?

I slept for about 6 of the nine hours.

Gregory said he had tried to wake me for breakfast, but I didn't wake.

He tried to help me in the Kiev airport but we lost each other at customs.

I had a circuitous route to the next flight, Kiev to Odessa and met Al (a pediatric cardiologist, on another mission to Odessa). We layed over almost 10 hours in Kiev airport...Al's cardiology team met us there a few hours before the flight to Odessa, and they were all very interesting.

Their mission was to perform cardiac surgery for children in Odessa, for Two weeks, all paid for by their respective hospitals. So when Al turned around at the ticket counter for AeroSvit airlines and said "are you with the pediatric mission?" Of course, I said "yes!" They are two separate missions and I hope I hear from them sometime!

I arrived at the Odessa airport (after sleeping another 1 and 15 minutes on the connecting flight) and met Irina (logistics coordinator), Valerie (translator) and Nicolay (security) at the airport...they took my to the Hotel...and sent me to BED.

20-some odd hours to Odessa remains copyright of the author LeaStoneB, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> JHI Mission Statement tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-07:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=2&entryid=160556 2009-05-08T01:15:53Z 2009-05-08T01:15:53Z At each site we strive to meet community needs by: * Coordinating teams of JHI volunteer medical professionals from the United States and Israel * Providing advanced training, lectures, consultations, home visits and public health education. * Donating durable medical goods and equipment, * Enhancing the quality of healthcare education * And improving overall health outcomes for the communities served These days, when medical advances are ... At each site we strive to meet community needs by:

* Coordinating teams of JHI volunteer medical professionals from the United States and Israel
* Providing advanced training, lectures, consultations, home visits and public health education.
* Donating durable medical goods and equipment,
* Enhancing the quality of healthcare education
* And improving overall health outcomes for the communities served

These days, when medical advances are beyond our wildest dreams, the number of unmet healthcare needs in worldwide communities is staggering. JHI addresses these needs in the name of the global Jewish community through the work of its volunteers.
Consultations

Our partners throughout the world have come to see JHI as a source for action when it comes to life or death situations that cannot be solved locally. These range from coordinating long-distance consultations, to procuring medications, or arranging for surgeries in the U.S. and Israel. JHI has assisted in numerous situations with successful results. A few of these situations are included in our success stories.

JHI’s mission is guided by three Jewish values;

* Tikun Olam (repairing the world): JHI volunteers take responsibility for others through their volunteer service in at-risk communities.
* Tzedakah (acts of charity): The donation of education, medical goods and pharmaceuticals are act of Tzedakah, as these markedly improve or save lives.
* Mitzvot (acts of goodwill) - helping people help themselves: JHI enables communities to become more self-sufficient, improving the quality of life for all residents.

When you teach a healthcare worker how to improve care,
it empowers them to share their knowledge
and provide better care for others for years to come.

JHI Mission Statement remains copyright of the author LeaStoneB, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Heading from Here to There tag:travellerspoint.com,2009-05-07:/blog/?domain=lea&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=160544 2009-06-14T23:13:34Z 2009-05-07T19:56:20Z I'm getting ready, I am just in awe of how much generosity there is for this trip. Thank you so much to those parents and professionals that have donated time, money and gifts for my trip. Now I just need a good night sleep. I'm packing pacifiers, horns and whistles, balloons and bubbles, sanitizer and more to donate to the children and paraprofessionals we meet. I'm hoping to get online and keep everyone updated...we shall see what kind of access I will ... I'm getting ready, I am just in awe of how much generosity there is for this trip. Thank you so much to those parents and professionals that have donated time, money and gifts for my trip. Now I just need a good night sleep.

I'm packing pacifiers, horns and whistles, balloons and bubbles, sanitizer and more to donate to the children and paraprofessionals we meet.

I'm hoping to get online and keep everyone updated...we shall see what kind of access I will have.

Lea

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