For immediate release: April 21, 2007
Contact: Emily Wofford Cobb
Public Relations Manager
Mobile: 775-338-3991
ecobb@medicine.nevada.edu
School of Medicine Class of 2010 to hold fundraiser for Timor teens
Sisters need costly, life-saving surgery to correct scoliosis
RENO, Nev.—Students from the University of Nevada School of Medicine Class of 2010 will hold a reception tonight, Saturday, April 21 to raise funds for two Timor teens in need of life-saving surgery. The reception, which will be held in the foyer of the Pennington Medical Education Building on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will feature several thousand dollars worth of silent auction items including a one-week stay in Bali, Indonesia.
The Timor teens, sisters Graciela and Marciela, were orphaned in 1999 when their parents were killed by a militia during the nation’s independence referendum. Now living at Fundacao Hadomi Timor Oan, an orphanage run by a non-governmental organization, their condition was first noticed by Malaysian peacekeeping officers. Graciela, 16, and Marciela, 13, both suffer from a debilitating form of scoliosis which has reached the crisis stage in which their heart and lung functions are beginning to become affected. Without treatment, the girls have only a few years to live with a poor and worsening quality of life.
“It is our hope that by raising funds for surgery, these girls will go on to lead full and normal lives,” says Morgan Richards, the event’s organizer and a first year medical student at the University of Nevada School of Medicine.
The peacekeeping officers flew the girls from Timor to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this past November for urgent medical care. While at National University Hospital their scoliosis was treated and Marciela also received care for tuberculosis. The physicians involved with treating the girls provided their services at a greatly reduced cost and the hospital absorbed the majority of the expense.
The treatment Graciela and Marciela received in November provided them with temporary relief, but the girls are in need of a surgery which would correct their scoliosis. The surgery involves straightening the spine by grafting bone to metal rods. Despite the generosity of the hospital, physicians and peacekeeping officers, the girls are faced with a substantial financial hurdle. The surgical rods and screws needed for the surgery must be imported and they are extremely expensive. In addition to the surgical needs and medications, the girls will need financial support for their travel costs to and from Malaysia as well as the expense for their care and living arrangements as they prepare, undergo, and recover from the complex surgery.
“We know that Marciela is a very bright student who would one day like to become a doctor so she can help children with problems like hers,” says Richards. “By helping raise funds for this surgical treatment, we hope we’ll be able to help her realize that dream.”
The Class of 2010 Timor fundraiser will be held Saturday, April 21 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the foyer of the Pennington Medical Education Building on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The cost to attend the fundraiser is just $25 per person. Individuals who would like to contribute to the girls’ surgical fund can send checks care of Patricia Romney to the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Mailstop 357, Reno, Nevada 89557. Checks should be made out Remy Lamberts, Class of 2010 Treasurer.
“Our class became involved in this project to embrace the ideal of humanism in medicine,” says Richards. “We want to stimulate thought and reflection about health and medical care both in our local community and across the world, as well as acknowledge the issues of health disparity abroad. We want to thank everyone who has supported this project.”
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, as well as ten nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. As the largest multi-specialty healthcare focus within the state, the School of Medicine employs more than 185 doctors who both teach and practice medicine throughout Nevada. The school’s statewide faculty physician practice group has a combined 25 different medical specialties with seven physician practice offices located in the Reno-Sparks area and five physician offices located in Las Vegas.
The University of Nevada School of Medicine utilizes a best-practice approach to medicine and is committed to addressing the health needs of Nevada now and in the future. For more information, please visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.
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