Success Stories

This page is devoted to some of the patients who MEDLIFE is proud to have been able to help. Many of these patients are still in touch with members of MEDLIFE's team.

William

In May of 2005 a MEDLIFE volunteer doctor knew that, after examining William, he
had a serious heart condition that would require surgery. As she informed William’s
father of the diagnosis, she was surprised to learn that they were aware of his
prognosis. “Yes”, he said gravely, “we’ve known he needed surgery for 5 years, but
we don’t have the money”. Upon hearing this, MEDLIFE’s volunteers made raising
money for William’s surgery a priority. By August 2005 William went to Ecuador’s
capital, Quito, and had life saving heart surgery.

 

Blanca

Blanca is 34 years old and is raising her daughter by herself. She came to MEDLIFE
complaining of a lump in her neck that had been growing for four years. On exam it
was noted that her thyroid was six times it’s normal size. MEDLIFE and HUVSYAL
arranged for diagnostic testing. Blanca was informed that she had thyroid cancer.
With MEDLIFE’s support Blanca received curative surgery. Blanca has now joined our
team, and hopes to become a Health Promoter in her community.

 

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.

Christian

Christian is a young boy from a village near Llilla, where MEDLIFE credits its founding
experience. Christian’s family had been waiting for the arrival of the MEDLIFE
team. The doctors barely had a moment to convert a small room into an examination
area, before they recognized that Christian was critically ill. Christian had fallen
two weeks earlier. His leg was terribly swollen, he was in severe pain, and had a
very high fever. The MEDLIFE doctors recognized they would not be able to treat him
in the make-shift clinic and so our Ecuadorian partners took Christian and his father
to the nearest city hospital. Christian had a life threatening infection in his leg and
needed surgery. Christian’s father was reluctant to have the surgery; he had lost
faith in the medical system in Ecuador. MEDLIFE team members advocated for
Christian and got lucky. One of MEDLIFE’s team members knew the surgeon at the hospital and made arrangements accompany Christian in the operating room. This extra step gave Christian’s family the confidence that MEDLIFE was going to be there for them until Christian got better. After a series of surgeries and an aggressive antibiotic treatment Christian was released from the hospital and went home.