Well everyone, I'm off to Spain this evening to on a pilgrimage. Here's hoping I can survive hiking 25km a day for 10 days with a 30 lb backpack on my back...

Anyways, I thought I'd leave you all with a detailed telling of Royana's story (it's a long one!):

Royana's Story:
First, I'd like to introduce you to this adorable 2 and a half year old girl. Her name is Royana and she lives in Angola.

October 2007:
My mother and I were invited to travel to Africa with Dr. Michael Bentley-Taylor. You see, in a pervious trip he'd examined a 7 year olf boy named Jose who turned out to have a heart condition. After returning to Canada, he'd pitched Jose's case to Sick Children's Hospital and the Herbie Foundation in the hopes that Jose could come to Canada and recieve life saving surgery. Unfortunately, an ultrasound with moving pictures, rather than just still images was required to allow Jose to come to Canada. And so, Dr. Bentley-Taylor shelled out for a $60,000 portable ultrasound machine and invited my mother (a cardiac-ultrasound technician) to get the images required. I tagged along.

In Angola, we examined Jose - whose condition had severely worsened - along with a number of other individuals. Among these individuals we found 8 year old Edgar and 6 month old Royana. Both of these children were perfect candidates for Sick Children's Hospital and the Herbie Foundation. Royana had a congenital defect known as a Tetralogy of Fallot along with an overriding aorta.

November 2007:
Jose and Edgar's cases were presented to Sick Children's Hospital and they were approved to come to Canada for surgery. Royana's case was also presented, but she was not accepted immediately.

Spring 2008:
Jose came to Canada and his surgery was a success. Edgar, however, was not so lucky. At only 8 years old, he passed away while waiting for the Angolan government to issue him a travel visa to Canada.

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Dr. Bentley-Taylor was preparing for another trip to Angola, along with my mother and myself. He recieved news that Royana had been accepted for surgery at Sick Children's Hospital at the beginning of April. Time was short, but work began to bring her to Canada.

Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Our team left for Angola once more with high hopes for Royana who was not 2 and a half years old.

Sunday, March 15th, 2009
We arrived in Angola.

Monday, March 16th, 2009
We began work at the CEML hospital in Lubango. Royana and her mother have traveled down from Luanda to see us. We examined Royana and found that her condition had worsened. Though she looked and behaved like a healthy two year old, she was becoming cyanotic (having difficulty absorbing oxygen). Her fingernails and palms were turning which from lack of oxygen and she began to cough when she became too active.

Dr. Bentley-Taylor assigns Adam (a young man who'd been working with Drs. Foster and Collins in Angola for the passed 3 months) to head up Royana's case and begin the process of getting her a travel visa to Canada. He had an advantage over the rest of the team since he'd managed to learn Portugese during his 3 month stay in Angola (Portugese being the national language). Dr. Collins was doubtfull that we would success since it's a rare case to get a visa inside of 3 months in Angola, and we would have to do it in 2 weeks. Still, Adam set right to work.

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Adam had filed the neccessary paperwork for Royana's visa, and decided to appeal to the Canadian Consulate in Angola to help expedite the process. He wrote a letter detailed Jose's successful surgery and the sad story of Edgar who died before recieving his visa. He implored them not to let Royana suffer the same fate.

Unfortunately, we discovered that the consulate in Angola is only honourary and therefore of no help in getting Royana's visa. Instead, we had to contact the Canadian Consulate in South Africa. Why would the South African government care about helping an Angolan child? Who knows, but we'd have to try. So Adam got to work calling and emailing them only to recieve no response.

Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Our team flew out to the village of Kalukembe to provide medical assistance there.

That evening, Adam recieved a call from the Canadian Consulate in South Africa. They had agreed to expedite the process in issuing Royana's visa. The following week was an example of Adam's persistence and determination, along with the Canadian Consulate's political procrastination and beaurocracy.

Friday, March 20th, 2009
Still in Kalukembe, our team meets a 9 year old girl named Ruth. She has the same condition as Royana, though not as severe. Still, she will need surgery in the next couple of years or she will die. Despite our frustrations with Royana's case, Dr. Bentley-Taylor prepared to pitch Ruth's case to Sick Children's Hospital upon our return to Canada.

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
We've all travelled back to Lubango, and Adam will be leaving the country soon to return to Canada. The Consulate continued to procrastinate with Royana's case. At this point, they had begun call screening and would no longer answer our calls or emails. Either Royana would be returning to Canada with us on Sunday, of she will have missed her oppourtunity, and it could be a long time until the next one would come along.

As a last ditch effort, Dr. Bentley-Taylor enlists the help of Caroline McKay (a journalist who's been documenting our work in Angola) to contact her husband; Liberal MP John McKay to ask for Ottawa's help in this matter. Though what could be done was uncertain, since the Liberal's were merely the opposition party and not the party in power. Due to the time difference, it would be a while until we hear from Ottawa.

That evening, we were saddened by the paralyzing insensitivity with which the Canadian Cosulate (and therefore Canadian government) had seemingly met this case. We dreaded that Royana, like Edgar, would become another example of a flawed system. Things seemed pretty much hopeless, but we kept some special prayers in our hearts for this little girl.

Thursday, March 26th, 2009
We met up with Adam during his last few hours in Lubango, and he excitedly told us about a phone call he'd recieved that morning. The Canadian Consulate had once more started contacting him. It turns out that back in Canada, John McKay had enlisted the help of the Ministry of Immigration, and Ottawa had lit the fire beneath the Canadian Consulate in South Africa. They were now pretty much bending over backwards to get Royana's travel visa to us. Acknowledging that it was too late for us to mail the passports to and from the consulate, they issued special permission for Royana and her mother to travel to South Africa with us. There at the Johannesburg airport, on a Sunday night, after hours (during our stopover on our trip back to Canada), an official from the consulate would meet with us to stamp the visa into their passports, thereby allowing them to travel on to Canada.

Friday, March 27th, 2009
All airline tickets for Royana and her mother were booked and arrangements were made to pick them up on Sunday morning and begin the journey to Canada.

Sunday, March 29th, 2009
Dr. Bentley-Taylor, my mother and myself met with Royana and her mother and began the trip to Canada.

At the Johannesburg airport we met up with the official from the Canadian Consulate. The travel visa was stamped into the passport of Royana and her mother. With joyful relief, we connected to our next flight.

Monday, March 30th, 2009
After more than 24 hours of air travel, we arrived at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada. Royana and her mother were introduced to their host family. Royana's surgery was scheduled for Easter Monday.

Monday, April 13th, 2009
Royana goes for heart surgery at Sick Children's Hospital. The surgery was long and Royana spent a prolonged period on the heart and lung machine resulting in a shock to her nervous system.

Saturday, April 29th, 2009
Despite a difficult recovery, Royana was discharged from Sick Children's Hospital - her surgery a success! She will likely be staying in Canada until the end of May.

THANK YOU!!!

Lord God for hearing our prayers!

Drs. Foster and Collins for bringing Royana to our attention.

Dr. Michael Bentley-Taylor for diagnosing her and presenting her to Sick Children's Hospital.

My mother for providing the material with which to make a diagnosis.

Adam Jutha for all your hard work on getting Royana's visa.

John and Caroline McKay for getting the right people involved.

To all others involved in this case, for getting Royana the help she required.

To all of you, for your prayers and good intentions.

We have seen a miracle unfold before our eyes!
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CONVENTION AND TRAVEL SCHEDULE

May 4th - 17th
SPAIN - Sant Iago di Compostella pilgrimage

May 22nd - 24th
ANIME NORTH

June 15th - September 13th
KILLARNEY PROVINCIAL PARK
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MY ETSY SHOP

Is closed until I return from Spain.
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MY GALLERY:

Some of the pieces in my other gallery are now over five years old, or nearing five years old. So take a few minutes to say goodbye to these babies because they will be removed from my gallery at the end of the month. Then they can rest happily and peacefully in their retirement.

Up for retirement on June 1st:


Up for retirement on July 1st:


Prints of some of these pieces are up for sale in my Etsy shop: [link]
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MY PHOTOGRAPHY: [link]

KILLARNEY 2008:
[link]


ANGOLA 2009:
[link]