Going Home

Yulce is finally going home. She has been in the U.S. since 2004. She went back to her family in Indonesia for one year following her first year of treatment. Dr. Peter Grossman has been amazing as he led her surgeries and recovery. Tina Johnson has been her guardian and has been a mother and friend to Yulce. She came with severe burn injuries and now she is going home as a confident and beautiful young woman..

She will go home after a long time in California. The adjustment is going to be difficult as she returns home. She is an American teenager and now she goes home to a remote village in Indonesia. Her parents are farmers and they work very hard to survive. Yulce is missed by her parents and brother and sister. This will be a wonderful reunion. Pray for Yulce as she arrives home and sees her friends and family for the first time in nearly four years.

The Next Step

Today was a big step for Tison. He had his fourth surgery. It was possibly the most important surgery for him. The surgeon worked on the ear that has been closed since the burn accident. His right ear was closed and we did not know if the inside of the ear was burned or untouched by the burn. It was a relief to hear that the ear canal was open. We are so happy to know his hearing was not affected and his ear can be made to look normal.

Tison had a heavy scar on his chest that is very uncomfortable for him--he wanted it fixed. Now it has a new skin graft over the scar. It is step by step. He is in the hospital tonight and will begin the healing process.

He was really anticipating this surgery because the surgeon was going to address the injuries that are the most uncomfortable for him. He was in the best spirits at 6:45 a.m. when he arrived fro the pre-op. He was up in his room at the hospital tonight watching movies. This was a great day.

Approved

Tison has been approved to remain in the U.S. for another six months. The application for a visa extension is a big job and must be done correctly. It was great to get the approval of his application for the next six months visa.

Tison needed to remain here in Alaska for more surgeries. He has been doing well and was able to complete three surgeries. The next surgery will be next week. His surgeon has been careful and we feel he has been wonderful. Tison has noticed his improvements and is happy about the progress.

It looks like he will be here at least until December 2010 and we will evaluate his condition again. We want him to leave here with as much of his injuries repaired.

Cooking Eggs

Tison is only speaking English now with an occasional Indonesian word thrown in when he doesn't know the word. He told us he wanted to cook some eggs. So he began giving us the list of things he needs just like a good cook. First, eggs and then a bowl. He took a fork and mixed the two eggs in the bowl. Then he said I need some bawang puti. That is garlic and he let us know it was not onions. No--not onions. He carefully sliced the garlic and put the slices in the eggs. He put the coconut oil in the frying pan and poured the eggs into the pan. It wasn't long and he was enjoying his eggs.

He is so much fun. This summer has been really full for him. He spent a lot of time at the lake with friends. He told us about the fox and beaver he saw at the lake. He will be in line for his next surgery this month--one more step closer to repairing his injuries.

Feeding the Bears

Normally--we would be told to NOT feed the bears. But Tison got to see and help feed two black bears owed by Ron and Sharon Richards. Samson the male and Delilah the smaller female have been a part of Ron and Sharon's family since they were very small. They live in a five acre fenced forested area and are not treated as pets. These huge bears are respected as wild animals but are cared for and nurtured by the Richards.

Tison got the chance to see these bears last night. He was amazed and even got to watch Ron feed them. Tison asked a lot of questions and helped prepare the food they would have for their meal. He loved the experience and kept talking about the bears all the way home.

Approved

Tison has had three surgeries in the last six months. He had a cold on the day his second surgery was scheduled, so it was set back three weeks due to the congestion. His left foot is really looking good. The graft around his ankle has allowed the foot to start to lay in the normal flat position. He had remarkable changes in his burned right hand and scaring on his face.

It was clear that he was in need of more surgeries and would need more time here in the U.S. We made the application to extend his visa. He was awarded another six months stay in the U.S. Our hope is he will get the surgeries he needs in the next six months. His right foot needs the same surgery he had on the left foot. His ears need reconstruction and he has heavy scars that really bother him.

Tison has done well and is speaking predominately English. He has a couple friends he likes to play with. This summer he has been to Hawaii and jet skiing on Harding Lake. It is amazing to him that it is light so late into the night.

BGAN

The amazing technology of this day allows us to communicate with our leaders in Indonesia. We have a satellite phone for emergencies and outgoing calls. We also have a system called BGAN to send emails. It connects to a satellite and then sends the message. We are charged a flat rate and beyond the allowed minutes we are charged for each additional minute.

I am writing about this because right now the BGAN is out of operation. It is being repaired but could take some time to be installed at the base.

We are actually looking for a better system. Hopefully we can upgrade the communications. These are the challenges to being so remote. We are at the end of the earth.