Medical Needs

Rick Hodes, M.D. received his medical training in Rochester and Baltimore.  He was honored with a Fulbright scholarship to teach in Addis Ababa in 1985 and has spent the last 2 decades in Africa saving lives.   Dr. Rick, as he is affectionately called in Ethiopia, is on staff at hospitals in Addis Ababa and Gondar, however his passion is caring for the severely ill at Mother Theresa’s Mission for the Destitute and Dying as a volunteer saving the lives of children that other people have forgotten.

For more info. please visit:  http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061759543/This_Is_a_Soul/index.aspx

Read a PDF about Rick Hodes being Father Teresa

A BEAUTIFUL STORY BY RICK

Tesfaye is a teenage boy from rural Gojjam who came to me at a Catholic mission where I see spine patients as part of our JDC spine program. Tesfaye had a bad back for years, due to tuberculosis as well as ankylosing spondylitis.  I ended up sending Tesfaye to Dr. Boachie in Ghana 3 times. In the end, he never had surgery because he needed more complicated aftercare than Ghana could offer. It seemed like it would be impossible to help Tesfaye, and he was stuck with a reptile-like back. That is, until Gary Segal of Vancouver visited us, and he took up Tesfaye’s cause. He negotiated with Vancouver General Hospital, and he funded Tesfaye’s surgery there. Last summer, Dr. Marcel Dvorak and his team operated successfully.Gary has done a wonderful job reporting all this on his blog:

Tesfayesjourney.blogspot.com

Tesfaye is now back in Addis Ababa and going to school. Even better,
Gary came to Ethiopia some months ago and brought Tesfaye back to his
village, where his mom saw him for the first time after surgery. The
whole village celebrated.

Many thanks to Gary, Dr. Dvorak, his team in Vancouver, and everyone
else who helped Tesfaye.

Thanks! Rick

MIERAF’S STORY

Mieraf had a severe deformity incompatible with long-term life, causing her spine to be an arc, and her armpit and hipbone (axilla and her iliac crest) to be about 3 fingers apart. After funding from the Mountain Film Festival, Mieref received successful surgery.

Here is a nice set of pics of Mieraf which show her before and after her surgery in Ghana by Dr. Boachie’s FOCOS team.The last 3 pics were taken by visiting professional photographer Mark Tuschman.

Many many thanks to the MountainFilm Festival for your help in saving Mieraf’s life.

All my best,

Rick

For pictures, please visit gallery.me.com/mhodes/100112