TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 6 33 she said, 'Bring him!' and that was it," Sandberg said. "Most hospitals would have turned him away." Knowing the surgery could now be done, Sandberg and his team worked on getting Caleb to Houston. They needed visas, passports and flights for Caleb and his mother. Dick Bassett, a philanthropist and friend of Sandberg's who had joined the team on the mission trip to Haiti, offered to pay for the flights for Caleb and his mother, in addition to helping Memorial Hermann with some of the surgery costs. "Dr. Sandberg performed a miracle for my family when he removed my son's brain tumor, and I would have done anything in my power to help him bring this beautiful boy to Houston to save his life," Bassett said. The team also needed a place for Caleb and his mother to stay for the duration of their time in Houston. Sandberg's assistant, Tacarra Logan, reached out to the Haitian community of Houston through Facebook and found that they were eager to help. "When we heard they were coming to Houston for this surgery, we wanted to do anything we could to help," said Sheagan Nyei, who was part of Caleb's Haitian host family. "I have a seven-year-old son and if I were in this situation—in a foreign country not knowing anyone—I would want someone to help me through it as well." After a month of planning, Caleb and his mother arrived in Houston, welcomed by the Haitian commu- nity and the Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital staff. Caleb underwent the eight-hour surgery to remove his brain tumor and was taken to the hospi- tal's pediatric intensive care unit. Within the week, he began walking for the first time in 10 months. "This whole experience has been a little surreal, meeting Caleb in Haiti and all of a sudden he is here in our operating room and we are able to save his life," Sandberg said. "Saving the life of any child is mean- ingful, but saving the life of a child from the poorest country in our hemisphere who had no hope of living without this surgery feels like our own small miracle." During his recovery at Children's Memorial Hermann, the entire hospital came together to make sure Caleb enjoyed his time in Houston. Mobley and her grandchildren brought winter clothing for Caleb and his mother in addition to Valentine's Day presents. "We forget how lucky our children are to live in the United States and have access to quality medical care. I wanted to share Caleb's story with my family to show them the importance of giving to others," Mobley said. "This Valentine's Day, they learned that lesson when they picked out valentines for Caleb instead of pres- ents for themselves." The hospital's food and nutrition services program also prepared a traditional Haitian meal for Caleb, his mother and the host family on their last night at the hospital. The meal included plantain porridge—a starchy breakfast item made with cornmeal, plantains, coconut milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extract—and brown stew chicken. "The food here has been confusing to us," said Bernita, Caleb's mother. "It means a lot to me that they would take the time to make us a meal we are familiar with." Shriners Hospitals for Children-Houston has been providing inpatient rehabilitation treatment for Caleb since his release from Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. Shriners Hospitals for Children- Houston specializes in orthopedic care and provides care regardless of the family's ability to pay. Since Caleb had been unable to walk for the better part of a year, it will take time and therapy for him to walk and move independently. "Caleb has been through a lot over the past year and things are going to be very different for him now," said Glendaliz Bosques, M.D., medical director of the Shriners Hospitals for Children-Houston Pediatric Rehabilitation Program. "We hope that the work we are doing here will allow Caleb to find himself again and allow him to function independently." Upon returning to Haiti, Bernita hopes that her son is able to get back to life as a 10-year-old. "I am so thankful for Dr. Sandberg, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, Shriners Hospital, the Haitian community, our church and everyone else who has helped us through this experience," Bernita said. "My biggest hope is that Caleb can return to school and play with his brothers and sisters again." Caleb will undergo rehabilitation to regain his stability and the strength to walk on his own. There are no pediatric neurosurgeons in Haiti, and families come from all over the country for care when they hear that a team from the United States is coming. Most of the children have diseases which are very advanced because of their lack of access to care. — DAVID SANDBERG, M.D.

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