For immediate release:  May 1, 2007

Contact:  Emily Wofford Cobb
Public Relations Manager
Office:  775-784-6006
ecobb@medicine.nevada.edu

Medical students raise $8,500 for Timor teens’ surgeries

Orphaned sisters need life-saving surgery to correct scoliosis

RENO, Nev.—Teenage sisters Graciela and Marciela are just a few steps closer to receiving the life-saving surgeries they need to correct their debilitating form of scoliosis thanks to the efforts of students from the University of Nevada School of Medicine Class of 2010.   Despite a rigorous schedule of exams and labs, the first year medical students used their free time to coordinate an elaborate fundraising event.  For their efforts, the Class of 2010 raised nearly $8,500 to put toward the girls’ surgeries at the April 21 fundraiser. 

“It is our hope that these girls will go on to lead full and normal lives once their scoliosis is corrected by surgery,” says Morgan Richards, the event’s organizer and a first year medical student.

The sisters, Graciela and Marciela, were orphaned in 1999 when their parents were killed by a militia during Timor’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 would have only a few years to live with a poor and worsening quality of life.

This past November the girls were flown to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to receive 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 surgeries the girls need now would correct their scoliosis and vastly improve their quality of life.  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 money for their treatment, we hope we’ll be able to help her realize that dream.”

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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