Dear family, friends, and generous donors,

I recently became a charter member of the Healing Hands Abroad (HHA) Foundation , a 501(c) non-profit organization of volunteer surgeons and nurses who provide free surgical care to men, women and children. We address the needs of the most desperate patients in underserved communities who would otherwise not receive appropriate surgical treatment. Our mission is not only to cure and prevent potentially deadly medical conditions, but to have a profound impact on the holistic health and happiness of our patients and their communities.

Jesse is a perfect example of the type of patient we see.

Healing Hands met Jesse in the Western Belize village of Succotz and was instantly struck by how shy the 17 year old was. His long hair, parted and flowing forward was stuffed underneath a large baseball cap completely covering his forehead. The team quickly realized the baseball cap was an attempt to disguise a large tumor above his left eye -- his obvious shyness now clearly a product of his life-long apprehension caused by the tumor. Unfortunatly, Jesse's local doctors were unable to treat this type of tumor. With the help of the Healing Hands team and its supporters, our surgeons were able to remove the tumor and restore Jesse's self-image. On a subsequent visit one year later, Jesse had transitioned into an outgoing and confident young man, no longer forced to hide behind the veil of his baseball cap. Without the help of the Healing Hands team it's difficult to tell how the tumor might have affected Jesse's future as he grew up and built relationships, started a family, and contributed to his community. However, we're confident that Healing Hands was instrumental in making sure the facial tumor that so clearly affected Jesse throughout childhood was no longer going to determine what he could or could not do in the future. This is just a single example of the impact Healing Hands Abroad can have.

*Fernando burned his hand on an iron several months before this photo was taken. The wound healed with so much scar tissue that he was unable to fully open his hand. The HHA team was able to correct this with a skin graft.*

Hearing these types of life changing stories is what moved me to become involved and support the Healing Hands Abroad family. From before medical school began it is efforts like this that personifies who I am and who I strive to be as a physician, and motivates me and my colleageues to have a positive impact on our patients.

*Jadiner Yacab is a 5 year-old boy with microtia of his right ear. Microtia affects 1 in 6000 births and is nearly twice as common in male children. The HHA team promised Jadiner's family our care during a future mission.*

As many of you know, I will be graduating from medical school in the spring of 2016. With a little luck, I will match into a surgical residency training program that will prepare me to one day operate on patients independently with HHA. I hope to travel with the HHA team either in April or November 2016 to visit pateints with conditions similar to Jesse's. We would be performing surgery in the Cayo district of Belize and it is our sincerest hope that they will also share success stories like Jesse's. Not many people can say they've travelled on a medical mission, so I take great pride in the prospective opportunity and am doing everything I can to help out what I think is a noble cause backed by a group of quality individuals. Pending approval I hope to be able to document our mission in real-time across several social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram so all of our supporters can truly appreciate how impactful their contribution is.

As Healing Hands Abroad is a 501(c) non-profit organization, we are always tremendoulsly grateful for any donations in support of our efforts, and would not be able to do what we do without YOUR help! ALL contributions go towards operating costs necessary to provide services to those in need.

Your donation will be used to fund:

Medicines - Many surgical procedures require medicines like antibiotics before and after surgery to help reduce the risk of infections in patients.

Surgical equipment - Like scalpels, syringes, gauze, sterile gowns and drapes are all costly but imperative components of modern surgical practice that are often hard to come by in the destinations we visit. It is our mandate at Healing Hands Abroad that the patients we treat receive the same standard of surgical care and expretise that any patient would back home.


Air transportation for staff - The surgeons and nurses who make up Healing Hands donate a week at a time away from their families, and give up income and salaries to ensure the missions are successful. Air fare is expensive today but we feel our pateints should not be deprived of the best personnel simply due to the cost of an airplane ticket.

Room and board for the volunteers - The Healing Hands volunteers stay together in modest accommodations and rent SUV's to transport them (and sometimes patients) to and from the hospital and clinic.


Other specialty medical supplies for specific situations - Often, prior to embarking on a mission, there may be several patients already known to the doctors who have special conditions requiring equipment not accessible where they are. In these cases we make every effort to provide this equipment by bringing it with us from home.

With your help, Healing Hands Abroad can fulfill its mission and realize its vision.

From me, the Healing Hands Abroad team, and most importantly our patients, a tremendous THANK YOU for your support!

Sincerely,

Joshua Barry Nadolny