Friday morning November 13th,2009:
Email - I woke up to an email from Tesfaye in which he apologized for the slow response to my last one. He said that when he thinks back to everything here in Vancouver he is sad and it seems like a "memory". He misses everybody and has seen almost all of our family in his dreams. He is also happy to be back learning at school, and started a new school on October 27th; next week he already has some exams.
Telephone call - In his email he gave me a phone number to call and Nanci and I did manage to reach him on our first try. The conversation was a little difficult because of a big delay or echo when you talk, but he sounded extremely happy to hear our voices - you could tell he had that big smile on his face as he talked to us. He is feeling good, sharing an apartment with another young man who had surgery, and working hard at school. We asked him how his eating is, and it seems that since he got used to eating a wide variety of western food here in Vancouver he now gets a little tired of a steady diet of Ethiopian Injerra meals; oh well, at least he has enough to eat. As we were talking he was just on his way to Dr. Rick Hodes' house for Shabbat dinner and was looking forward to it. We will talk again soon, and I said I will look into trying to get to Ethiopia towards the end of January to try to go with Tesfaye to see his family back in his village in Gojjam. We'll see.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
A newly discovered update from Tesfaye (photos added Dec.9,2009)
Monday November 2nd, 2009: The last couple of weeks I have been hoping for more details from Tesfaye when he sends us the occasional email. Well, today I kind of felt like I had come upon some rare old lost text, when upon reviewing an email from October 13th I saw two attachments that I had not noticed or read before, and which required the downloading of a program to convert it to a format my computer could read. Below is a summary of the two attachments and some extracts I have reproduced:
1. Reactions to Tesfaye's return: In one of the attachments Tesfaye said how happy he was to see his friends in Dr. Rick Hode's house, and
how excited they were about his return and how happy they all were about his successful back surgery. He also said that he met his best friend from the years when he lived in the "Mercato", and he couldn't believe how Tesfaye now looked; similarly, he met his nephew, a policeman in Addis, who also couldn't believe the change in Tesfaye's back. Finally, the same reaction when he visited his last school and saw his friends and the Director. When Tesfaye spoke to the Director of the school he asked if he could skip to Grade six, promising that he will study very hard; the Director seemed willing to allow it.
2. Beautiful farewell and welcome sentiments: In the second attachment Tesfaye reproduced the lovely Farewell message from my children, and included two Welcome messages from a couple of sweet younger housemates of his that I have had the pleasure of meeting. They both praise the miracles G_d performs, and express how much affection they hold for Tesfaye. I have reproduced those two Welcome messages below in their unaltered beautiful original wording and spelling:
A Note from Balemleye:
Lovely heartfelt sentiments for a special young man.
1. Reactions to Tesfaye's return: In one of the attachments Tesfaye said how happy he was to see his friends in Dr. Rick Hode's house, and 
how excited they were about his return and how happy they all were about his successful back surgery. He also said that he met his best friend from the years when he lived in the "Mercato", and he couldn't believe how Tesfaye now looked; similarly, he met his nephew, a policeman in Addis, who also couldn't believe the change in Tesfaye's back. Finally, the same reaction when he visited his last school and saw his friends and the Director. When Tesfaye spoke to the Director of the school he asked if he could skip to Grade six, promising that he will study very hard; the Director seemed willing to allow it.2. Beautiful farewell and welcome sentiments: In the second attachment Tesfaye reproduced the lovely Farewell message from my children, and included two Welcome messages from a couple of sweet younger housemates of his that I have had the pleasure of meeting. They both praise the miracles G_d performs, and express how much affection they hold for Tesfaye. I have reproduced those two Welcome messages below in their unaltered beautiful original wording and spelling:
A Note from Balemleye:
"Welcome to Addis My Brother.
God is always with you, God loves you very much, God mad surgery for you, you know what you are good person, God loves you. From Balemleye to my brother Tesfaye Negussie. You are truly very special and that's just why it is so wonderful to be welcoming you to enjoy together, the times that lie ahead, welcome."A Note from Zemenay:
"A Hearty Welcome to Great Brother Tesfaye. From your Sister Zemenay.
A special welcome that has with it many good wishes for you; may you find everything absolutly wanderful and pleasant in every way. Tesfaye did you see what God mercail [sp.miracle]. Tesfaye, God mad you to straight, God is so kindness and lovely, you can't tell about God, it is so many you can't finsh. If you do good thing and if you listn he will make you care and straight, so there is no like God. I'm happy because you are straight. Tesfaye, I can't tell you, I'm mor than hapair. Are you? "
Lovely heartfelt sentiments for a special young man.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tesfaye's Story - the next chapter begins
(Note: "Double Clicking" on any picture in this blog will allow you to view a larger version of it)
How life is going for Tesfaye back in Ethiopia and related thoughts:
Over the last few weeks since Tesfaye's return to Ethiopia, while Nanci and I were in Israel and since returning to Vancouver, we have had a few short emails from Tesfaye telling us that:
And we miss him terribly -- we miss his constant smile, his signature finger pose in pictures, his great sense of humour, his positive outlook, his instant connection and wonderful relationship with our dog Ziggy and cockatoo Mango, his natural curiousity, his desire to learn, and his ability to appreciate life and never abandon hope no matter what curves it may throw at him. The amazing thing is that Tesfaye possessed all of theses qualities before the corrective spine surgery, in spite of the extremely difficult and painful life he led over the last 12 years, in spite of the debilitating and disfiguring back he had to live with until now (read or re-read his life history reproduced down the right hand column of this blog).
As I have said before in this blog and in other venues, Tesfaye is a very special young man with a positive outlook on life that can overcome most any adversity; we can all learn something from him. Now that as a result of his successful spine surgery he has gained a remarkable new and upright physical outlook on life to go along with his already great mental outlook, I know that he has a far brighter future ahead of him, and believe that he will make something of himself and go on to have a positive impact on other people's lives, as he in fact already has. I feel so fortunate to have crossed paths with him and to have become part of his "Journey of Hope"; but whatever my family and I have been able to give Tesfaye, we have gained so much more from him in return. Although we miss each other, I hope to return to Ethiopia in the next few months, as he would like me to travel with him to his village in Gojjam for his first reunion with his family in over two years and, of course, since the surgery. I really hope that I can arrange to do that, as I am sure that will be an unforgettable experience.
In the meantime, I will continue to post updates on how Tesfaye's life is going back in Ethiopia as I receive them.
How life is going for Tesfaye back in Ethiopia and related thoughts:
Over the last few weeks since Tesfaye's return to Ethiopia, while Nanci and I were in Israel and since returning to Vancouver, we have had a few short emails from Tesfaye telling us that:
- he arrived safely and not to worry, he is doing well;
- everyone back home thought he looked unbelievable;
- he does not have internet access at Dr. Rick's house, so goes to an internet cafe from time to time to email us;
- he has spoken to his mother and brother on the phone and they are all fine;
- he is eating well, injerra meals and sometimes macaroni;
- Azmera loves her new eyeglasses;
- he gave some of the clothes he brought back to others in the house;
- as we discussed before he went back, he has found a new and better quality school to attend (his last one had limited English instruction and he found the students very disruptive), and I understand that he has recently started his studies there; and
- he misses us!
As I have said before in this blog and in other venues, Tesfaye is a very special young man with a positive outlook on life that can overcome most any adversity; we can all learn something from him. Now that as a result of his successful spine surgery he has gained a remarkable new and upright physical outlook on life to go along with his already great mental outlook, I know that he has a far brighter future ahead of him, and believe that he will make something of himself and go on to have a positive impact on other people's lives, as he in fact already has. I feel so fortunate to have crossed paths with him and to have become part of his "Journey of Hope"; but whatever my family and I have been able to give Tesfaye, we have gained so much more from him in return. Although we miss each other, I hope to return to Ethiopia in the next few months, as he would like me to travel with him to his village in Gojjam for his first reunion with his family in over two years and, of course, since the surgery. I really hope that I can arrange to do that, as I am sure that will be an unforgettable experience.
In the meantime, I will continue to post updates on how Tesfaye's life is going back in Ethiopia as I receive them.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Saying "goodbye" - this chapter in the Story ends
Over the course of the last week I have finally filled in details and added pictures to the posts for the week of Sept. 28 to Oct. 4th, Tesfaye's last week in Vancouver, and have done the same for our three nights and days in New York, up until our saying "goodbye" on October 7th. If you have not yet read those postings, please do and you will see that Tesfaye, Nanci and I shared some wonderful experiences over that period of time, sadly knowing that the time we would have to say goodbye, at least for now, was fast approaching. Below is a recounting of our parting moment, and a brief outline of some related aspects of our subsequent time in Israel:
Wednesday afternoon, October 7th, 2009: "Au revoir", not "goodbye"
We made it back to Chloe's place after our morning errands but had to wait a few minutes for Chloe to arrive, and by then we had no time for any long goodbyes as to be safe we should have already been on our way to the airport. As it turns out, that was probably easier for both Tesfaye and us. Although it was an emotional farewell, it felt like less of a final goodbye than a French "au revoir" - a goodbye until we see each other again in the not too distant future; Nanci and I also felt grateful that we had the opportunity to spend so much special time with Tesfaye (and Azmera) in New York, knowing in the back of our minds that this time was coming. After our goodbye hugs and parting words, Nanci and I rushed back to our hotel, checked out, and jumped into a cab to Newark Airport New Jersey. It was our lucky day and we did not encounter any traffic snags, so we made it with time to spare (a rare occurrence for me).
October 8th to 21st, 2009: Spine research and Israel - Nanci and I had a great time in Israel, amongst other things: seeing a lot of friends including Jerus, the Israeli Ethiopian law student houseguest that stayed with us for a month until Sept. 15th (see blog postings from that period), our friend Micha Feldman
(a remarkable man and great friend to the Israeli Ethiopian community), and Netzanet, a lovely young orphaned Ethiopian woman that came into our lives through Micha; relaxing and experiencing the wonderful restaurants, "bauhaus" architecture and nightlife of Tel Aviv ( the "city that never sleeps"), which is celebrating its 
100th anniversary this year; and spending a few days immersed in the unique historical and spiritual atmosphere of Jerusalem. In addition to having fun and conducting a bit of business, Nanci and I participated in a couple of days of Hebrew University (my second year alma mater) activities that in a way tied in with our experience with Tesfaye. At the inivitation of Hebrew University, a small group of people from Vancouver came to explore and further joint research initiatives planned between Hebrew U and VGH, UBC and Rick Hansen's Foundation. Part of our small group included Dr. Marcel Dvorak (who headed the VGH spine team that operated on Tesfaye), Stephen Owen (former Member of Parliament and current VP of UBC), and Rick Hansen (making his first return to Israel since his famous Man in Motion tour around the world in his wheelchair in the mid 1980's).
Amongst other things, we received presentations from Hebrew U/ Hadassah Hospital researchers and Doctors about interesting research and studies being conducted by them about spinal cord issues, and attended an Israeli parliament committee meeting on children with disabilities and related accessiblity issues in Israel. It was a very busy few days for everyone, but also very stimulating and enjoyable; the amount of research coming out of an institution the size of Hebrew U is rather remarkable. It was also very nice getting to know our fellow group members better.
Wednesday afternoon, October 7th, 2009: "Au revoir", not "goodbye"
We made it back to Chloe's place after our morning errands but had to wait a few minutes for Chloe to arrive, and by then we had no time for any long goodbyes as to be safe we should have already been on our way to the airport. As it turns out, that was probably easier for both Tesfaye and us. Although it was an emotional farewell, it felt like less of a final goodbye than a French "au revoir" - a goodbye until we see each other again in the not too distant future; Nanci and I also felt grateful that we had the opportunity to spend so much special time with Tesfaye (and Azmera) in New York, knowing in the back of our minds that this time was coming. After our goodbye hugs and parting words, Nanci and I rushed back to our hotel, checked out, and jumped into a cab to Newark Airport New Jersey. It was our lucky day and we did not encounter any traffic snags, so we made it with time to spare (a rare occurrence for me).
October 8th to 21st, 2009: Spine research and Israel - Nanci and I had a great time in Israel, amongst other things: seeing a lot of friends including Jerus, the Israeli Ethiopian law student houseguest that stayed with us for a month until Sept. 15th (see blog postings from that period), our friend Micha Feldman
100th anniversary this year; and spending a few days immersed in the unique historical and spiritual atmosphere of Jerusalem. In addition to having fun and conducting a bit of business, Nanci and I participated in a couple of days of Hebrew University (my second year alma mater) activities that in a way tied in with our experience with Tesfaye. At the inivitation of Hebrew University, a small group of people from Vancouver came to explore and further joint research initiatives planned between Hebrew U and VGH, UBC and Rick Hansen's Foundation. Part of our small group included Dr. Marcel Dvorak (who headed the VGH spine team that operated on Tesfaye), Stephen Owen (former Member of Parliament and current VP of UBC), and Rick Hansen (making his first return to Israel since his famous Man in Motion tour around the world in his wheelchair in the mid 1980's). 
Amongst other things, we received presentations from Hebrew U/ Hadassah Hospital researchers and Doctors about interesting research and studies being conducted by them about spinal cord issues, and attended an Israeli parliament committee meeting on children with disabilities and related accessiblity issues in Israel. It was a very busy few days for everyone, but also very stimulating and enjoyable; the amount of research coming out of an institution the size of Hebrew U is rather remarkable. It was also very nice getting to know our fellow group members better.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
New York : A Bittersweet Goodbye - Part Two
Tuesday October 6th and Wednesday October 7th,2009:
October 6th morning and afternoon - Bus Touring and New Specs: After Monday October 5th's somewhat late evening we had a bit of a late start to the morning. We went to Chloe's and picked up Tesfaye and Azmera, who also slept in, and first went to lunch. We headed in the direction of the Broadway Theatre where the Lion King is playing to see if tickets for the matinee were set aside for us. As I feared, Tuesday is a day when there is no matinee scheduled. When I spoke with Chloe she said she would look into the status of things and probably try to arrange tickets for the evening show, and in fact I then heard from Candice confirming we were all set up for the evening performance; I thanked her very much for her thoughtfulness, as Nanci and I had wanted to see the Lion King for a long time and thought it would be a great show for Tesfaye and Azmera to enjoy.
After sorting that out we first just sat around in the warm sun, Tesfaye and Azmera looking "cool" in their sunglassed,taking in the action in Times Square. Speaking of glasses, as Nanci and I had noticed before, Azmera's everyday prescription glasses that she obtained in Ethiopia were always sitting on a slant, and when I took them off and inspected them more closely you could see that they were all loose and the finish on the lenses appeared to be permanently scratched and have somewhat of a foggy film on them; we weren't quite sure what we could do about them, or if we had time to event try. We
then decided to take up one of the street seller's bus tour promotions and do a Double Decker Bus tour of Manhattan from Midtown to Downtown, good for 24 hours with the ability to get on and off at different stops. Although sunny, there was a bit of a cool wind and I was wearing a very light shirt, but it was nice to sit on the upper deck nevertheless to fully appreciate the view. The bus made it's way along the route of many of Manhattan's famous landmarks, and it was a great way for Tesfaye and Azmera to get a feel for the size, height, and hustle and bustle of Manhattan. While taking it all in, Nanci 
and hoped that the glasses would be delivered before Nanci and I had to leave for the airport tomorrow. The paradox of being fitted for new glasses is that if your eyes are bad you can't really tell how you look in new frames without lenses, so we took a picture of her wearing them on Nanci's blackberry and then showed it to her while wearing her old ones.
Wednesday morning, October 7th, 2009 - And now, the end is near... The day when Nanci and I would have to bid farewell to Tesfaye had finally arrived. We woke up reasonably early and finished our packing, and then gathere up Tesfaye and Azmera one last morning for breakfast and to accomplish two errands: picking up Tesfaye's Dutch transit visa and then dropping off an envelope Dr. Rick Hodes at the JDC office. Being another nice and sunny day in Manhattan, we accomplished all those tasks on foot, walking quite a distance in the process. I must say that throughout the three days we spent in New York, Tesfaye and Azmera did not balk at walking long distances. I am sure after undergoing such transformative surgery they have an extra appreciation that they are able to do it. We were running a little late and so took a taxi back to Chloe's in order to drop off Tesfaye and Azmera and say our goodbyes. Our plane was leaving within an hour of Tesfaye's, but from different airports, so Chloe was going to be taking Tesfaye to the airport with her friend. We had hoped that by the time we got to Chloe's, around 1pm, Azmera's new glasses would be delivered, but it was not to be. When I called the optiician they confirmed that the new glasses were on their way by bike courier, but Nanci and I would just have to wait to hear how the finished version felt and wait until the next time we see her.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
New York: A bittersweet goodbye - Part One
In this post and the previous one I catch up on our our amazing week with Tesfaye before heading to New York and the busy first couple of days in New York.
Sunday October 4th and Monday October 4th, 2009: As mentioned in my last capsule summary on September 30th concerning the week of Monday Sept. 28 to Sunday Oct. 4 (which was very recently filled in with more detail and pictures), Nanci and I left with Tesfaye on Sunday October 4th to New York after an extremely busy week leading up to that comprised of We Day on Tuesday and the African Children's Choir dinner Tuesday night, VGH thank you/Tesfaye farewell at our house Wednesday night, Arthritis Dinner Thursday night, and the Ronald McDonald House BC Gala dinner Saturday night; as usual, I left the packing for last minute and after doing a last minute cleanup at the office Saturday night after the RMHBC gala dinner, I ended up staying up all night until leaving for the Airport Sunday Oct. 4th at 6 am.
Sunday October 4th, 2009 - Happy Reunions:
Tesfaye, Nanci and I arrived in NY Sunday night around 9 pm after a long day
of flying via Houston . After dropping our bags off first at our hotel we took Tesfaye straight to Chloe Malle's apartment where he would be staying in New York until leaving for Ethiopia the afternoon of the 7th. Chloe's apartment fortunately was only seven or eight blocks away from our hotel, right across from Central Park. What a wonderfully happy reunion Tesfaye had both with Chloe, who had recently volunteered in Ethiopia with Rick for a year or so and authored Tesfaye's life story that appears on the right side column of this blog, and with Azmera,a 14 year old girl who also has lived with Dr. Rick Hodes the
last couple of years and had corrective back surgery done successfully in Ghana by Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei (unlike Tesfaye, who was finally turned down by the anaesthesiologist for being too risky for there; in hindsight, based on the complications experienced post surgery in Vancouver, it was a prudent decision).
Azmera was brought to New York to tell her story to the audience at the Dr. Boachie fundraising dinner for his FOCOS Foundation (see below about Monday evening's dinner). Azmera was sleeping on the sofa when we arrived, so we woke her up to see Tesfaye and it must have seemed like a dream for her to see the now upright and 7 inches taller Tesfaye. Azmera was also happy to see Nanci and me, as we had spent some time with her on our visit with Rick in March of 2008; she was still wearing the watch that Nanci had given her off of her wrist when Azmera had innocently seemed to be adimiring it. Eventually it was time for Nanci and me to head back to check in at our hotel. As Chloe had just started a new job with the New York Observer she was not going to be around for Azmera and Tesfaye, Nanci and I happily planned to spend all of Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday with Tesfaye and Azmera before leaving for the airport on our way to Israel.
Monday morning and afternoon October 5th, 2009 - Dutch Consulate, Rockefeller Plaza, Central Park:
Monday morning I let Nanci sleep in a bit while I went
to pick up Tesfaye and Azmera to accompany me to the Dutch consulate in order to get Tesfaye's transit visa for Amsterdam reissued. Unfortunately the visa that I had issued for Tesfaye in Vancouver was no longer good, as his flight from New York to Amsterdam had been moved up a week.Fortunately the Vancouver office of the Dutch consulate were very nice and in fact were aware of Tesfaye's story, so put in a good word to the New York Dutch consulate before I got there with a view to expediting the visa issuance process. Normally it would take five days, but they would try to do it within 2 days.
When we left the building, which is located in Rockefeller Plaza, we saw a big Fire Safety exhibition being put on by New York's finest fire fighting units for school children, so Tesfaye, Azmera and 
I hung around watching the activites and looking at the new and old fire trucks in the plaza; we also talked to a few fire men, which I am sure Nanci would have also enjoyed had she been there with us.
We then met up with Nanci for lunch, and after lunch decided to go on a Central Park horse and buggy ride.The weather was beautiful and we had a lovely time taking in the Central Park scenery;
you could tell it was a very enjoyable new experience for Tesfaye and Azmera.
Monday evening October 4th: The Dr. Boachie Focos Foundation Dinner: Early Monday evening Nanci and I made our way to the Marriot Maruqis Hotel in Times Square where the Focos Foundation/Dr. Boachie dinner was being held, and Tesfaye was going to be brought there with Azmera by Chloe. As Nanci and I met up with Dr. Rick Hodes and were introduced to a number of people at the reception, we keenly awaited Tesfaye's arrival, anxious to witness his reunion with Dr. Rick and others that knew him, including little mischievous Danny. Danny was another young man around seven years old that Rick had taken in to his home just weeks before we had visited Rick last March in Addis; Danny had succesfully been operated on in Ghana by Dr. Boachie and was now under the care of Marilyn Berger Hewett, the N Y Times journalist that was writing a biography on Dr. Rick Hodes. Sadly, Marilyn's husband Don Hewitt, legendary producer of "Sixty Minutes", had passed away this past summer. Danny was going to be entering school in the New York area.
Finally Tesfaye arrived for the dinner reception with Chloe and Azmera, and I can tell you that it was truly wonderful to witness the affection displayed forTesfaye at the dinner as he reunited with Rick and with a number of people who fondly remembered meeting him in Ethiopia or Ghana, and to see and hear the amazed reactions as to how wonderful he now looks. Tesfaye looked terrific dressed in black pants, a white shirt, and the black VGH Spine Program vest that was given to him at the dinner Nanci and I hosted the previous Wednesday night at our house. People who knew Tesfaye from before were so happy for Tesfaye that he finally was able to have successful corrective spine surgery, as I heard again how remarkably upbeat, kind and helpful Tesfaye was to the other young patients on the spine ward in Ghana that were lucky enough to be having the surgery; this time I was hearing it firsthand from doctors and nurses that were present in Ghana the couple of times that Tesfaye went there to have the desparately needed surgery done, only to ultimately be turned away due to the complicated nature of his case and potential post-op complications.
The dinner was a very nice and successful event, raising funds towards the new hospital Dr. Boachie's foundation is building in Ghana that would be able to handle more complicated cases like Tesfaye's. I was happy to have the opportunity to finally meet Dr. Boachie and his wife and learn more about his foundation's activities. There were a number of very inspiring speeches and video presentations, including Azmera presenting her speech about her life story and the big impact the surgery that Dr. Boachie performed on her back has had on her life and aspirations. Her history is a sad one, being abandoned by her father at the age of 8 years old at the hospital in Gonder up north, where she lived for three years. She then ended up at the Mother Theresa Mission in Addis Ababa where Dr. Rick Hodes eventually met her, took her in to live at his house, and eventually arranged for her to have the corrective spine surgery done by Dr. Boachie in Ghana. (Incidentally, another life changing event for her was when Rick gave her his glasses to try on and all of a sudden she could see things with some clarity like never before, and they realized that rather than being "slow" as she had been labelled, she is actually very bright but simply quite blind). In any event, as Azmera said at the dinner, the surgery totally changed her outlook on life and she now has aspirations to become a doctor herself. There are so many stories like Tesfaye's and Azmera's, and fortunately between Dr. Rick Hodes work on the ground in Ethiopia and Dr. Boachie and his team's volunteer surgical work in Ghana, the lives of many such young individuals have been and continue to be transformed.
It was also a pleasure for Nanci and me to be able to meet Chloe's mother, the lovely and talented Candice Bergen, who also attended the dinner and had heard about Tesfaye; Candice has always been a favourite actress of mine, so I couldn't help but act like a fan and request a picture with her, Chloe and the three of us. At some point we had mentioned to Chloe that we were going to look into taking Tesfaye and Azmera to a matinee Broadway Theatre production such as "Lion King" if possible, and when Candice heard that she graciously said she wanted to try to arrange it for us, and that she would be in touch the next day. After the dinner Nanci and I ended up staying quite late talking with Rick and a few of the guests that had lingered afterwards.
Sunday October 4th and Monday October 4th, 2009: As mentioned in my last capsule summary on September 30th concerning the week of Monday Sept. 28 to Sunday Oct. 4 (which was very recently filled in with more detail and pictures), Nanci and I left with Tesfaye on Sunday October 4th to New York after an extremely busy week leading up to that comprised of We Day on Tuesday and the African Children's Choir dinner Tuesday night, VGH thank you/Tesfaye farewell at our house Wednesday night, Arthritis Dinner Thursday night, and the Ronald McDonald House BC Gala dinner Saturday night; as usual, I left the packing for last minute and after doing a last minute cleanup at the office Saturday night after the RMHBC gala dinner, I ended up staying up all night until leaving for the Airport Sunday Oct. 4th at 6 am.
Sunday October 4th, 2009 - Happy Reunions:
Tesfaye, Nanci and I arrived in NY Sunday night around 9 pm after a long dayof flying via Houston . After dropping our bags off first at our hotel we took Tesfaye straight to Chloe Malle's apartment where he would be staying in New York until leaving for Ethiopia the afternoon of the 7th. Chloe's apartment fortunately was only seven or eight blocks away from our hotel, right across from Central Park. What a wonderfully happy reunion Tesfaye had both with Chloe, who had recently volunteered in Ethiopia with Rick for a year or so and authored Tesfaye's life story that appears on the right side column of this blog, and with Azmera,a 14 year old girl who also has lived with Dr. Rick Hodes the
last couple of years and had corrective back surgery done successfully in Ghana by Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei (unlike Tesfaye, who was finally turned down by the anaesthesiologist for being too risky for there; in hindsight, based on the complications experienced post surgery in Vancouver, it was a prudent decision).
Azmera was brought to New York to tell her story to the audience at the Dr. Boachie fundraising dinner for his FOCOS Foundation (see below about Monday evening's dinner). Azmera was sleeping on the sofa when we arrived, so we woke her up to see Tesfaye and it must have seemed like a dream for her to see the now upright and 7 inches taller Tesfaye. Azmera was also happy to see Nanci and me, as we had spent some time with her on our visit with Rick in March of 2008; she was still wearing the watch that Nanci had given her off of her wrist when Azmera had innocently seemed to be adimiring it. Eventually it was time for Nanci and me to head back to check in at our hotel. As Chloe had just started a new job with the New York Observer she was not going to be around for Azmera and Tesfaye, Nanci and I happily planned to spend all of Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday with Tesfaye and Azmera before leaving for the airport on our way to Israel.Monday morning and afternoon October 5th, 2009 - Dutch Consulate, Rockefeller Plaza, Central Park:
Monday morning I let Nanci sleep in a bit while I went
to pick up Tesfaye and Azmera to accompany me to the Dutch consulate in order to get Tesfaye's transit visa for Amsterdam reissued. Unfortunately the visa that I had issued for Tesfaye in Vancouver was no longer good, as his flight from New York to Amsterdam had been moved up a week.Fortunately the Vancouver office of the Dutch consulate were very nice and in fact were aware of Tesfaye's story, so put in a good word to the New York Dutch consulate before I got there with a view to expediting the visa issuance process. Normally it would take five days, but they would try to do it within 2 days.
When we left the building, which is located in Rockefeller Plaza, we saw a big Fire Safety exhibition being put on by New York's finest fire fighting units for school children, so Tesfaye, Azmera and 
I hung around watching the activites and looking at the new and old fire trucks in the plaza; we also talked to a few fire men, which I am sure Nanci would have also enjoyed had she been there with us. 
We then met up with Nanci for lunch, and after lunch decided to go on a Central Park horse and buggy ride.The weather was beautiful and we had a lovely time taking in the Central Park scenery;
you could tell it was a very enjoyable new experience for Tesfaye and Azmera. 
Monday evening October 4th: The Dr. Boachie Focos Foundation Dinner: Early Monday evening Nanci and I made our way to the Marriot Maruqis Hotel in Times Square where the Focos Foundation/Dr. Boachie dinner was being held, and Tesfaye was going to be brought there with Azmera by Chloe. As Nanci and I met up with Dr. Rick Hodes and were introduced to a number of people at the reception, we keenly awaited Tesfaye's arrival, anxious to witness his reunion with Dr. Rick and others that knew him, including little mischievous Danny. Danny was another young man around seven years old that Rick had taken in to his home just weeks before we had visited Rick last March in Addis; Danny had succesfully been operated on in Ghana by Dr. Boachie and was now under the care of Marilyn Berger Hewett, the N Y Times journalist that was writing a biography on Dr. Rick Hodes. Sadly, Marilyn's husband Don Hewitt, legendary producer of "Sixty Minutes", had passed away this past summer. Danny was going to be entering school in the New York area. 
Finally Tesfaye arrived for the dinner reception with Chloe and Azmera, and I can tell you that it was truly wonderful to witness the affection displayed forTesfaye at the dinner as he reunited with Rick and with a number of people who fondly remembered meeting him in Ethiopia or Ghana, and to see and hear the amazed reactions as to how wonderful he now looks. Tesfaye looked terrific dressed in black pants, a white shirt, and the black VGH Spine Program vest that was given to him at the dinner Nanci and I hosted the previous Wednesday night at our house. People who knew Tesfaye from before were so happy for Tesfaye that he finally was able to have successful corrective spine surgery, as I heard again how remarkably upbeat, kind and helpful Tesfaye was to the other young patients on the spine ward in Ghana that were lucky enough to be having the surgery; this time I was hearing it firsthand from doctors and nurses that were present in Ghana the couple of times that Tesfaye went there to have the desparately needed surgery done, only to ultimately be turned away due to the complicated nature of his case and potential post-op complications.
It was also a pleasure for Nanci and me to be able to meet Chloe's mother, the lovely and talented Candice Bergen, who also attended the dinner and had heard about Tesfaye; Candice has always been a favourite actress of mine, so I couldn't help but act like a fan and request a picture with her, Chloe and the three of us. At some point we had mentioned to Chloe that we were going to look into taking Tesfaye and Azmera to a matinee Broadway Theatre production such as "Lion King" if possible, and when Candice heard that she graciously said she wanted to try to arrange it for us, and that she would be in touch the next day. After the dinner Nanci and I ended up staying quite late talking with Rick and a few of the guests that had lingered afterwards.
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