Fernando and I began our volunteer work today at Angel Notion. I’m so excited about the month ahead. Fernando will be installing a new computer program to track patients, converting all the paper files to an electronic database that will be remotely accessible. The clinic also partners with the University of Michigan and plans to develop a study with them on why so many children are born with deformities in this area. The study will involve setting up computers, webcams, and installing software. Fernando will help in this area too.
My main project will be updating and possibly revamping the Angel Notion website. I’ve sent off a few emails to designer friends hoping that someone will be willing to design a shell that I can populate with content. Or maybe I’ll find a template to use. I have a good idea of the content to include, but am sure that more will arise as I begin talking to the medical volunteers, finding out even more of what they do from them.
Thus far, here are some of my notes which will probably make more sense to me than to anyone else. This is just a preliminary documentation of the different services offered at the clinic.
- Chiropractic
- Dentisty
- Psychology
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Cardiology
- Acupuncture
- OBGYN
- Research & Development
- Education: special needs; pre-natal; raw foods; diabetes
- Donations of toys and school supplies to Maya children
It’s an exciting time at the clinic. Just recently, Angel Notion received funds to begin building another center for pediatrics and prenatal care. The equipment was donated from the United States. Likewise, digitizing patient records and setting up the study are huge steps forward.
It’s simply amazing to me that Director Lavonna built this from scratch 9 years ago after finding a little boy in need of a new heart. After taking him to the States for surgery, the little boy’s mother told everyone she knew about Lavonna and what she had done for her son. Soon, other parents were bringing their children with congenital heart defects to her doorstep. Lavonna found a way to help them.
The next major accomplishment came from the Mayor. He had been watching Lavonna from a distance and asked her to come over for a meeting. He was so pleased with her work, that he gave her an abandoned clinic to use as center for health and healing. She immediately called all the alternative health providers that she knew and began an alternative healing center. Her volunteers consisted of massage therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and the like. Today, the clinic has more of a traditional health focus, but the alternative roots still permeate. Lavonna believes that lack of money should never be a deterrent to alleviate pain or save a child’s life. Further, she strongly supports volunteering in one’s community. The professionals at her clinic stagger their visits once a week and donate their time to help others in their neighborhood. It’s truly inspiring: raising community awareness and empowering folks by creating pathways to giving back.
Currently, there are twenty-five children in need of open heart surgery. In December, there will be a a special rate for the surgeries of $150 per child instead of the normal $15,000. Besides monetary donations, other tax deductible opportunities to share are the following:
- Baby aspirin
- Pediasure
- Children’s books in Spanish
- Backpacks
- School supplies
- Toys
- Used glasses (frames)
- $150 = 1 heart for a child during the month of December 2008
This is going to be one magical month.
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