Darwin

 In May 2005, only days after meeting William, members of MEDLIFE’s team met Darwin. Before seeing the doctor, Darwin was examined by a nursing student. She mentioned that she thought his heart didn’t sound “right”. It turned out that she was right. Darwin like William had a congenital heart defect, but unlike William, this was the first time his family had heard this. Over the course of the following year with the support of our Ecuadorian partners Darwin made several trips to the capital for medical tests. The results confirmed that Darwin needed surgery. While our Ecuadorian partners were working as patient advocates for Darwin, our volunteers in the USA were working to raise funds for his surgery. While support for Darwin’s surgery came from many people, one student took it upon himself to make sure that Darwin would get the surgery he needed. Juan Vanegas, currently the president of the student chapter of MEDLIFE at the University of Maine, spent his spring break fundraising for Darwin. In May 2006, Darwin received surgery in Quito. Juan made the trip from Orono, Maine to Quito to be with Darwin during his surgery.