International Updates

An 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile this weekend–a second major earthquake in a developing country in only 6 weeks. So many people asked about those with hemophilia in Haiti, that I’d like to reassure everyone that Chile has a very good hemophilia health care system, and those with hemophilia should be well cared for, even following the quake.

And I have good news about Haiti: we learned that one boy we know there, who has factor VIII deficiency and whom we have helped before is okay, and we are sending more factor to him. This summer I hope to visit Haiti to get a patient registry started, to learn where hemophilia patients are and how many there are. Following the earthquake, so many NGOs are teaming together to bring help, that I will piggyback off some groups already established there, who have pledged to help us.

This past week I was in New York City (yes, during that terrible storm!) and visited the ambassador to the United Nations from Zimbabwe, His Excellency Boniface Chidyausiku. This is the UN dignitary who helped us speed up Elton’s visa approval one year ago, so Elton could come to the US for emergency surgery at RUSH Hospital in Chicago. It was a wonderful meeting, and we reminisced about visits to the beautiful country of Zimbabwe and the people we both know in health care there. Accompanying me was Juliet Hanlon, UN Goodwill Ambassador and recording artist, who made this meeting possible.

There are good things happening internationally, despite the often sad news of political unrest or natural disasters. Even if it’s a story of one boy from Zimbabwe or Haiti, it’s enough to keep hope alive.

Good Book I Just Read
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

I was given this book over a year ago and finally read it, in two nights. A little gem! There’s nothing new presented here that Napoleon Hill didn’t already present previously in his landmark Think and Grow Rich or that Wayne Dyer hasn’t presented for 20 years now in his books and on public television. But this sure is marketed and packaged in a way that makes you savor it. The book is about the Law of Attraction, and how the universe will provide if you make your intentions and desires clear and visualized. Mankind has known about this Law for eons, and I’ve read many books on the subject, but I really enjoyed how this one was set up and presented. It gets a bit hokey a few times, and I didn’t like the heavy marketing of the DVD, but overall, a light read, one that will make you feel wonderful and I do believe it works! I’ve used it myself with success. Three stars.