CHERYL LAMON

MEMORIAL FUND

 

LEAP created the Cheryl Lamon Memorial Fund in memory of Cheryl Lamon, who lost her battle to cancer in early 2019. This program funds two initiatives. The first one identified is Casa Josefina, an orphanage in Cusco, Peru, and its medical clinic, La Fuente Centro de Salud Integral. This funding enables the orphanage to continue to provide loving care for the abandoned and vulnerable children in the area, grow the clinic’s laser surgery program to give sight to the blind, and create the revenue needed to sustain the clinic and orphanage work. Secondly, this program funds the travel and surgical costs to bring patients from other countries to the United States for complex craniofacial surgeries and care which cannot be performed in their home country.

Nainsi

During our 2019 India mission, we met eight-year-old Nainsi and her family. She was born with a large encephalocele (brain cyst) protruding from her forehead. If left untreated, it would be fatal. After several months of planning, LEAP had initially scheduled Nainsi’s surgery in Dallas for September 2019. However, after overcoming U.S. immigration delays, Nainsi and her mother were finally granted travel visas and made the 2-day journey to America in early 2020. On January 14, Drs. Craig Hobar, Evan Beale, and David Sacco successfully removed the encephalocele. After one month of post-op care, love, and compassion from their host family, the Pintos, and the outstanding medical professionals at Medical City Children’s Hospital, Nainsi and her mother were escorted back to their home by our 2020 India mission team.

Casa Josefina

Funding from the Cheryl Lamon Memorial Fund supports Casa Josefina, an orphanage in Cusco, Peru, and its medical clinic La Fuente Centro de Salud Integral. La Fuente Centro de Salud Integral treats people of all economic backgrounds. They do not refuse treatment to anyone and offer a “pay-what-you-can” plan to lower income patients. In addition to providing medical care, the clinic trains and employs local medical professionals.

Peru has experienced the most restrictive COVID-19 quarantine situations in the world and has been on a military enforced quarantine for 98 days. That put a halt to the ability of the clinic to generate funds to support the orphanage. Fortunately, due to funding from the Cheryl Lamon Memorial Fund, sufficient funds were available to not only keep the orphanage going but to maintain the staff and place 20 of the children in permanent family homes.

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