The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, May 21, 2010 · 10 St. Vincent students get house call for Bethany Kids doctor By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF For the past three years the students at St. Vincent elementary school have been raising funds to help support a children's hospital in Kijabe, Kenya, raising nearly $10,000 for the hospital during this year's Lent alone. Last week, these students got to hear where their donations are going from a man who turns those donations into lifesaving treatments and life-altering operations. Dr. Dan Poenaru, a pediatric surgeon at St. Bethany's Kids Hospital, dropped by St. Vincent School on his way back to Kenya, last week, to answer the students' questions about his work at the hospital. Educated in Montreal, Poenaru worked in academic practice at Kingston's Queen's University for 10 years before deciding to dedicate his life to medical missionary work and moving to Kenya in 2003. Poenaru said he chose Kenya because it was one of the few places in Africa that has the development to permit a doctor to work as a specialist. In Poenaru's case, St. Bethany's allowed him to focus on the patients he has been trained to save...children. "I am a children's surgeon. That's what I love to do, that's what I've always loved to do and I was praying I could find a place where I could do that and eventually that's what came up," he said. "I love kids and pediatric surgery is a beautiful thing because you are investing resources into someone with such great potential. Most people who need medicine need it when they are 60 or 70 years old and with them you are trying to buy another year, maybe two years. You make a difference in the life of a child and you make it for life. I love that." Poenaru is one of two surgeons at St. Bethany's, which last year conducted 2,500 surgeries to help children in need. On average, Poenaru said he undertakes 5-7 surgeries each day. "Our motto is to provide healing and hope to children with disabilities in Africa and we're really the only organization in Africa specifically focused on this," he said. "Our plans are to open Bethany Kids Centres in various countries in Africa because as bad as things are in Kenya, they are a lot worse in other countries." St. Bethany's in Kenya has 68 beds, which are rarely empty with Poenaru treating such conditions as clubfoot, spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is among the most common conditions Poenaru sees. Also known as `water on the brain' the illness causes cerebrospinal fluid to accumulate in the child's brain causing ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER HOUSE CALL: Dr. Dan Poenaru, of Bethany Kids Hospital in Kenya, paid a visit to St.Vincent students, who have been raising funds for the facility. increased intracranial pressure inside the skull, progressive enlargement of the head (in infants), convulsions and mental disability. If left untreated progressive hydrocephalus may be fatal. "The majority of the kids acquire this from infections that are not treated properly in the first month of life," said Poenaru. "So it is definitely poverty-related, just like pretty much everything we do over there is poverty-related. We like to say that the name of the disease is poverty." Poenaru said all of his patients come from families living below the poverty line with many of these families making less than a dollar a day. Poenaru receives no salary for his work, however, there is still a cost to each surgery performed, which is usually in the area of $200 to $400. As the patients cannot pay, Poenaru said, donations like the one coming from 5th nnua 5t Annual 5th Annual th Saturd Saturday une 9th 01 Saturda Jun 19t Saturday June 19th, 2010 Saturday June 19th, 2010 aturd turda rday 9th, Open R Regatta hosted by the Bronte Harbour Yacht Club t hosted by the Bronte Harbou Yacht Clu hosted hosted hosted hosted the Bro e Harbour ac Clu ron ont arb arbou ach cht lub www.otmhregatta.com McDonald's Crew Breakfast: :0 McDona d's Crew Breakfast: 9:00 10:00 McDonald's Crew Break ast 9:00 10:00 AM McDonald's Crew Breakfast: 9:00 - 10:00 AM cDonald s onald's eakf t: 00 kfas 0 Skipper s Meeting: Skipper's Meeting: Skipper's Meeting: 9:300 Skipper's Meeting 9:300 AM Sk pper's Meeting: 9:300 AM kipper's Meetin First Gun: 11:00 Firs Gun: 11:00 Fir t Gun: 11:00 AM Fi st Gun: 11:00 AM irst 1 00 Post-Race Cocktails: :30 Post-Race Cocktails: 3:30 5:30 Post-Race Cocktails: 3:30 5:30 PM Post-Race Cocktails: 3:30 - 5:30 PM ost Race Cocktails: t-Race ktails 30 Dinner Dinne Dinner Dinner & Awards: 5:30 - 8:00 PM nner Awards: 5:30 8:00 PM Awards: 5:30 8:00 wards :30 8:00 rds: Dance Party: :00 Danc Party 8:00 PM Midnig Dance Pa ty: 8:00 PM - Midnight nce Party: 00 Party Midnight Midnight Midnigh dnigh night St. Vincent School are extremely important as without them these surgeries could not take place. Poenaru said it is important these surgeries continue as they not only save lives, but also allow children to be integrated into a society that would otherwise exclude them for being different. When asked about his most memorable patient Poenaru talked about an 18-yearold boy who was born with a condition where he had no bladder control. "This boy could not even look in my eyes because he had been in his urine all his life. He was 18 and he was in Grade 2 because they didn't allow him to attend school for the longest time and when they finally did he was only allowed to look through a window while standing outside the class," said Poenaru. "We did the surgery, he came back about six months later with a big school knapsack and he was so proud and he looked me straight in the eye and he said, `Thank you,' and pointed to his dry pants. That was really satisfying." Unfortunately not every surgery ends as happily. Poenaru said sometimes the children are so sick or malnourished when they come to him that he cannot save them. Poenaru said this is particularly difficult to accept when it's clear the death was completely preventable had the child only received treatment earlier. "It's sad when a baby that has a problem that is quite treatable if it is brought in during its first day of life, when they're born, they end up coming a week later. By then infection has already set in and even if we do the surgery they may still die," said Poenaru. "That's what's sad, the fact they don't have access to care because they can't afford to have the surgery done (in a closer hospital)." Now because of the work of the children of St. Vincent School, more than a dozen children will be saved or have the opportunity to live normal lives. To find out more about Bethany Kid's Hospital, visit www.bethanykids.org. WOOD N' FLOOR We Install All Kinds of Floors "Refinish Your Wood Floor Like New" Serving Oakville residents for over 20 years. THIS YEAR'S EVENT FEATURE TH S YEAR'S EVENT FEATURES HIS YEAR'S EVEN FEATURES YEAR S EVENT FEAT RES YEAR'S VENT Racing Racing Racing & Cruising Clas cing C uisin Class Cruising Class Cruising Class Cruising Class Cruising sing Raffle Raffl Raffle & Pledge Prizes le P dge Prizes Pledge Prizes Ple ge Prizes Pled e Prize Pledg Prizes Catered Dinn , Cater d Dinner, DJ Catered D nner, DJ & Dancing Dinner, Dinner Dancing Dancing Dancing Dancing Dancin The Bronte Pirates The Bronte Pirates he Bronte Pirates Bronte Pirates onte Pirates e Pirates Thanks to the generous donations of our sponsors, the BMO Nesbitt Burns OTMH Rega ta h k h s donations f ou sp nsors, the BMO Nesbitt Burns OTMH Regat d nations s ur sponsors, he BMO Nesbitt Burns OTMH Regatta sponsor spon rs, ponsors, Nesbitt Burns OTMH Regatt Nesb bitt Burns Regatta will raise money for the OAKVILLE-TRA ALGAR MEMORIAL HOSP AL. ill i ey r e OAK ILLE-TRAF OAKVI LE-TRAFA GAR MEMORIAL HOSPI OAKVILL -TRAFAL AR MEMOR AL HOSPITAL. OAKVILLE- RAFALG R MEMORIAL HOSPITA AKVILLE-T AFALGA MEMORIAL HOSPIT MORIAL PITAL KAZ (905) 338-1881 www.woodnfloor.ca W