Laiver needs a special wheelchair and bed...

minerva_feliz

New member
May 4, 2009
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Can you help Laiver?

Laiver is 5 years old and is from a small village outside the city of Barahona in the Southwest of the Dominican Republic. He lives with his grandma, grandpa and mother in a modest but tidy wooden house with a tin roof and latrine. Grandpa works small areas of farmland, grandma is an avid churchgoer and leader of the local women?s association and mom is employed as a street sweeper by the local municipality. Their home was flooded during Tropical Storm Noel in 2007.

Like many Dominican families, Lavier?s is poor, and while they do the best they can, they are unable to attend to some of his needs. He has a condition called hydrocephalus. Build-up of fluid causes his head to enlarge and reduces the size of his brain. A shunt has been implanted to address this, although he sometimes suffers from complications such as infections.

Hydrocephalus affects around 1 in 500 children worldwide. Implanting at shunt at an early age, having constant access to adequate medical care and being exposed to appropriate mental and physical therapy can help them lead long, fulfilling lives. But in developing countries, such as the Dominican Republic, these children are less likely to have access to those things.

I have known Laiver and his family for several years now. They are good, honest people who always share with me what they have, whether it is a plate of rice and beans, a glass of fresh juice or a warm hug. They have never asked me for anything and to my knowledge have never received any significant assistance from local politicians or organizations.

On a whim, I decided that I wanted to share his story in hopes that someone would be willing to lend them a helping hand. Here are some things that, in my limited knowledge about his condition, I feel could be of great use:

-A special chair for persons with this condition, whether a wheelchair or chair for sitting, that reclines and offers head support. A regular wheel chair wouldn?t work. Laiver?s mom takes him out of his crib to feed him, and he is getting heavy and a little too big for her lap! It would be nice for him to get around a little, since he spends all of his days in his crib looking up at the tin roof.

-A custom bed, such as a twin-size that has railing, so that he doesn?t fall out. Laiver is literally outgrowing his crib! It doesn?t have to be a hospital bed...maybe someone knows how to build a custom one with rails?

-Other items for daily consumption or use, such as: diapers, powdered milk, towels/washcloths, sheets, clothes/underwear, vitamin powder/drink, and toys that are safe for him. The clothes/linens can of course be used, anything would be great.

If you belong to or know of a group or organization that could help, please let me know. I know that the National Lottery has a program to help children with special needs like Laiver to get wheelchairs, and I plan on getting in touch with them.

If you would like to personally help, the family would love to meet you if you could come down to Barahona. I can translate and help you find a place to stay, if needed. If you want to send something, through Caribe Tours to Barahona would be the best way, although I can arrange to pick something up in Santo Domingo if necessary. I will deliver whatever it is to them and show them how to use it if needed. I will also send you a picture so that you can see that they got it.

Thank you for reading about Laiver and his family.

"You can not do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do."
-Anonymous

This is Laiver in his crib:
 

las2137

New member
Sep 1, 2008
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Minerva- from your previous posts I know that you take these matters seriously and thus have chosen a very special family.

I wonder, would it be possible to set up a PayPal account for donations? I'm not working right now so don't have too much but could make a small contribution towards a larger purchase.

Also, just a thought... I'm not involved with them but the International Women's Club here in Santo Domingo often does fundraisers for special cases. Might be worth it to contact them.
 

minerva_feliz

New member
May 4, 2009
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Thanks for the responses!

The family is indeed very special and deserving. I will work on the paypal account and get back with you. I think the biggest priority would be the bed with rails, so if it's ok with everyone any money that gets donated could go to getting that built and the mattress. I will look into the plans for building one, but if any carpenters out there have an suggestions, it would be appreciated. ;)

I have been doing some research and also plan to contact these other organizations:

Dominican Republic - CURE International

Hospital Infantil Dr. Robert Reid Cabral

and the Primera Dama.

If anyone has any contacts in these places, please share.
 

juanita

Bronze
Apr 22, 2004
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Minerva, for the bed go to Villa Consuelo, that is where they make the metal beds and you may buy new or used for a very good price. I was there today looking at bed myself and they have what you are looking for!
 

minerva_feliz

New member
May 4, 2009
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I also saw that...

I sent a message to the OP "ex-navy" asking for contacts, and perhaps they could put a head-support and/or reclining wheelchair for Laiver in the shipment they plan on sending.

I am going to look into the used hospital beds in SD next week (thanks, juanita) and still working on the Paypal account.
 

minerva_feliz

New member
May 4, 2009
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Bed needs a bola...

Updates:

-I bought a nice, used hospital bed in Santo Domingo. Was wondering if anyone had a truck and was going to be driving down to Barahona in the next few weeks to bring it down.

-Haven't heard back from "ex-Navy" or others I have contacted about the wheelchair. This seems to be the biggest challenge, but I'm not giving up yet.

-I have a paypal account set up, send me a message if you are interested in supporting Laiver.

-I hope to surprise Laiver and his family with the bed (which I plan on painting) and other items on the first weekend in December. If anyone wants to come down, let me know!
 

ex-navy

New member
Dec 28, 2006
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Hi,

Sorry I have forgotten about this. I am so sorry.

I live in Toronto Canada and wheel chairs are easy to find. I have a friend who
works for Motion Specialties who manufactures many types of chairs.

They receive many old chairs and donate to charities.

This chair would be specialized but I doubt we would not have a problem finding one.

The problem is getting a single chair to the Dominican.

It is utterly expensive (silly actually) that the shipping costs are 4 times the
amount of the chair.

If there is any way this can be helped I am sure we can get him the chair he needs.

My email is darren.olson@simplesudz.com

We are also interested in developing small villages in the Dominican for employment and basic services using wind energy and wave energy.

We manufacture natural cleaning products used in hotels, homes, restaurants, etc.

I thought it might be a good idea to help the humble, unfortunate people with whom I adore.

You people are much more richer than we.

How can I help?

Darren
 

Lambada

Gold
Mar 4, 2004
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www.ginniebedggood.com
Haven't seen any posts from Minerva in quite a while & I know she was leaving where she was last December. I don't even know if she's still in the DR or not; it looks like the last time she logged in was December 12th 2009 but maybe a kind Mod could check that for you?