Now Katina..."Life is Important to Save'--December 2008

I examined Katina last month in Haiti. 

Katina is sick and needs heart surgery again. OSF in Peoria does not want her back. 

In addition to her sick heart, she has sickle cell anemia and I felt a large lymph node on the right side of her neck. She needs to come to the United States for a good workup and heart surgery.

I don't have any place for her. Other medical centers in the United States don't want OSF's patients.

Here is a chat I had with Frandy yesterday regarding Katina:

12:22 PM Dejean: Hi dr Carroll

12:23 PM me: frandy,

how is katina? what is her problem??

12:24 PM Dejean: yes i am here and i've a couple of information for you

me: ok

12:25 PM Dejean: i got on the phone with her before yesterday and also this morning

me: good

Dejean: she's not doing well

me: tell me exactly what you mean

Dejean: ok

12:26 PM she's a stomach problem

12:27 PM and she feels it where she was operated on

me: please answer these questions:

Dejean: ok

12:28 PM me: 1. Is she short of breath? Soufle anle?

Dejean: no

me: 2. Does she have pain in her chest or abdomen? Li gen doule nan lestomak oubyen vant la?

Dejean: yes she does

12:29 PM me: 3. Is the boul on her neck still large? In other words, li toujour gen gwo mas la sou kou a?

4. Does she have a fever?

Dejean: yes and it is hurting her

no she does not any fever

12:30 PM she does not have any fever

me: Frandy, please tell her father that she needs a chest xray.

Dejean: ok

me: We have to find out why she has the enlarged lymph node on her neck.

12:31 PM Dejean: ok

me: thank you

Dejean: but do you think an xray would help you to find it out?

me: She can get the chest xray at Grace Children's or in a lab near Champ Mars

12:32 PM Dejean: ok

me: If she has tuberculosis, we could see tuberculosis in her lung (chest xray). Some times people have tuberculosis in their lungs and they have a lump on their neck....

12:33 PM Dejean: ok

me: The chest xray is the most important thing to do STAT...

12:34 PM Frandy, I will go for now, ok?

Dejean: ok i am gonna tell her dad everything

ok

me: thanks

Dejean: see you later

me: many thanks

Dejean: life is important to save!

me: yes

12:36 PM Dejean: you don't have to thanks me, you better thanks God for the way He helped you to save mine and for this great family i have in St louis.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Katina Needs Surgery

Katina is a 13-year-old Haitian girl. She had heart surgery at OSF in Peoria in 2002.

She needs repeat heart surgery and OSF will not operate on her. Haitian Hearts has contacted other medical centers and they believe she is OSF's ethical and medical responsibility. And she is.

I examined her two months ago in Haiti and she needs heart surgery soon or she will die like Jackson and Maxime.

OSF's International Committee needs to accept Katina. Haitian Hearts is able to give OSF $10,000 dollars for her surgery.

Her passport is up to date and I would go to Haiti to get her if OSF accepted her.

See this video of Katina.

How OSF is willing to let this little girl die in Haiti is beyond me.

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Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Katina Rejected Again

I received another Katina rejection from yet another medical center yesterday. 

Medical centers are just not anxious to operate OSF-SFMC's patients from Haiti.

OSF-SFMC in Peoria needs to do the right thing. They need to accept Katina and give her state-of-the-art medical care.

But when OSF's heart is constructing a $400 million expansion of their medical center in Peoria, Katina's heart just doesn't count.

Many other children's hospitals around the country are aware of OSF's unethical and negligent behavior in abandoning these kids.

How many more Haitian Hearts patients are going to suffer and die while the OSF Sisters and the Catholic Diocese of Peoria remain silent?