Girl One and Girl Two

Two little girls, Marie and Jenny, arrived in New York City today with their wonderful escort, Chris. Flights in and out of Port-au-Prince have been so crazy lately that Chris couldn’t get one to the States until today, and she had to fly to Cleveland via New York with an overnight in the Big Apple. Hmm . . . that gives me an idea for a nickname for PAP: the Big Apple Core. Chris called John and said both girls traveled well. What’s a little international travel when you’re a kid fromHaiti?

Jenny will be having surgery in Cleveland and Marie gets to cross the mighty Mississippi to St. Louis for hers. These girls both have congenital heart problems, so we don’t have to worry about them taking blood thinners like we do with people who have bad valves replaced. And we also don’t have to worry about future surgeries, like we do with patients who have valve repairs, because the fixes Jenny and Marie will get will be permanent and nothing they will outgrow.

We cannot thank our wonderful host families enough for their enthusiasm and willingness to participate in this adventure!