Yadler Pierrevil is an eight-year old boy who lives with his family in humble circumstances near Cavaillon. Subsequent to surgery on his left leg at a local facility in Haiti over four years ago, he has had a chronic draining wound that would not heal despite daily antibiotics prescribed by the local physicians and purchased by his parents with their very limited means.  During the last medical mission to Cavaillon funded by Presentation Church, Yadler was brought to the clinic and his first x-ray was obtained. The film was brought to the United States and presented to orthopedic specialist Douglas Avella, M.D. who made the diagnosis of chronic osteomyelitis with advanced bone destruction.  Half of these cases untreated will evolve to a bone cancer.  To resolve Yadler’s plight, a large team of people worked from many different vantage points to make the necessary care happen. NOVA and Presentation Church acting jointly and through the auspices of Healing the Children Midlantic, Inc. arranged for the granting of a US medical visa and pro bono surgical care at the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey.  American Airlines provided a free voucher for transportation and NOVA’s representative in Port-au-Prince, Solanges Toussaint, fulfilled all the US and Haitian requirements for Yadler’s travel.  Dr. Avella and his surgical team as well as the Valley Hospital anesthesiologists Altan Yenicay, M.D. and Steven Smith, M.D.,  and Carol Sotsky, M.D infectious disease specialist all offered their services as a gift to this child.  Mary and John Silverberg of Suffern, New York opened their arms and offered to host Yadler in their home during his stay here in the United States, serving as his surrogate parents and taking him for numerous physician visits and staying with him during the nights of his hospitalization.  Joseph Nuzzi, Director of Pastoral Care at St. Francis of Assisi Church in New York City went on a personal fundraising crusade among friends to raise the money for expensive home intravenous antibiotics and visiting nursing care. 

Curative surgery took place on October 25, 2007 and Yadler recovered quickly but required frequent dressing changes and continued intravenous antibiotics.  Unfortunately, his left femur bone had become so eroded and weakened by chronic osteomyelitis during the past four years that four weeks after surgery, when he was simply weight-bearing on his two legs, he had a sudden painful pathological vertical fracture of his diseased left femur that required reoperation for stabilization on November 26th.  He is currently ambulating with a special external brace fixator created and donated by orthotist Steven Rinko of Rinko Orthopedics and continues his antibiotic treatment.  Repeat bone x-rays taken in January confirm the presence of healthy new bone formation now, and Dr. Avella anticipates that Yadler will return to Haiti and rejoin his family in mid-February 2008.  No part of this success story would have been possible without the numerous links in the chain that all pulled together to make this child’s life a little brighter and alter his otherwise bleak destiny