Healing Samantha An American family lends a helping hand to a child in need. By Linda DeVries Wisconsin is a long way from home for twenty-two-month-old Samantha David, who arrived there from Haiti in early January 2004. When she returns to her native land, her life will be radically changed, thanks to the compassion of some special folks from St. Matthew Roman Catholic Parish in Green Bay and members of that city's medical community. Samantha, who was born with a severe cleft palate, needed surgery that was not available in Haiti. She came to the attention of St. Matthew members Tim and Christy Healy-Zahner, who spent the last year doing mission work in St. Helene, a mountain village in Haiti. When they returned to the United States on January 1, they brought Samantha and her mother, Elmida Chery, with them. Christy's mother, Denice Healy, had paved the way for her arrival. She spoke with doctors Michael Janitch and William Dierburg, both plastic surgeons, who agreed to perform Samantha's surgery for free. “They agreed to do the surgery even though they had only seen photographs of Samantha,” Denice said. “St. Vincent Hospital agreed to let them use their facilities without cost, and the anesthesiologist, Dr. Johnson, also donated his services. When it turned out that Samantha would need plugs inserted into her ears prior to surgery, we called on Dr. James Clemens, an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Dr. John Taylor, who is a pediatrician, handled Samantha's general care, doing all her blood work and treating her for other health conditions.” On January 7, the surgeons closed the opening on the roof of Samantha's mouth. The following week they repaired her upper lip. “She looks beautiful!” Christy said. “The healing process was incredible! She's already eating soft foods and sleeping well.” ____________________________ You can give her a few blocks, and she'll sit on the floor and play for a couple hours. ____________________________ Samantha's mother, Elmida, also came to Green Bay. She can't read or write and only speaks Creole. “I can't even imagine what she thinks of life here,” Denice said. “But she wants so much for her daughter. She's such a faith-filled person. In the hospital she was on her knees in prayer. When she says grace at meals, it takes over three minutes.” Both of Samantha's arms are in casts from wrist to shoulder to prevent her from touching her mouth until healing is complete. But Denice said, “She's a doll, so patient, so well-behaved! You can give her a few blocks, and she'll sit on the floor and play for a couple hours.” Denice says her behavior is typical for Haitian children. “They have so little that they are content with much simpler things than kids here,” she said. The same applies to most people in Haiti, where the average income is $300, Denice said. “People are always together, not isolated in their own houses with TV and computers. They walk miles to church, and Mass lasts for a few hours. I can hardly get through Mass there without crying. I found Haiti to be so faith-filled.” St. Matthew Parish – where Denice and her husband Jeff are longtime members – supports the work of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady in their rural clinic and nutrition center in southwestern Haiti. The clinic serves anyone needing its services. The nutritional center mainly helps ill children suffering from severe malnutrition, a common condition in that impoverished country. ____________________________ People are always together, not isolated in their own houses with TV and computers. ____________________________ Until her unexpected death last September, Sister Althea Jonis was in charge of the mission, assisted by Marie Claire, who remains. St. Matthew parishioners have taken medical supplies and provided short-term help over the past six years. Denice herself has gone five times. In 2001, she arranged to have a little boy, Dieulereste, flown to the United States for eye surgery. He had been born without eyelids and would be blind within the year without surgery. Parishioners and others from northeast Wisconsin helped pay for his travel expenses, while the doctors and St. Vincent Hospital donated the time and medical procedures necessary to give Dieu his vision. Today he is a happy, healthy three-year-old at home in Haiti with nearly perfect vision. Mike Westenberg, religious education coordinator at St. Matthew, said, “It's great to see people get captivated by a need, then give their talents to help. God has blessed the timing of all this. The political situation in Haiti is so unstable, and currently even the future of the mission is up in the air.” Tim and Christy, both graduates of Marquette University in Milwaukee, married in 2001. In lieu of wedding gifts, they requested donations for the mission in Haiti. When the Healys saw the generosity of their daughter and son-in-law, they gave the young couple a trip to Haiti so they could take the money there themselves. During their visit, Sister Althea asked them to come back and serve for a year. Christy, trained as an occupational therapist, and Tim, a public relations coordinator and writer, quit their jobs, sold their cars, and left last January for Aquin, Haiti. “We both knew we'd been born in fortunate circumstances,” Christy said. “We're so grateful, and we wanted to give something back.” In early February, Tim and Christy, both twenty-eight, will return to Haiti with Samantha and her mother to see them home safely. When they get back to the US, they will head for California, where Tim has extended family. There they plan to find jobs and “start over.” Linda DeVries is a writer/editor in Appleton, Wisconsin. She has authored two books and written articles for various publications. She has two daughters and a West Highland White Terrier and enjoys quilting in her spare time. This article first appeared in The Compass, at www.thecompassnews.org . This website: Copyright © 2004 Dream World Media, LLC. / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. This website/publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.