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VOLUME 19, NUMBER 24
JUNE 23, 1972
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
lt*s a Long Way from Honduras to Duke
Kelsey Has A Lot To Remember
The past three weeks have been
bewildering for Kelsey Ambrosio.
Up until then, he had never been more
than 100 miles away from his native
village of Cauquiri on the Honduran
coast. He had not slept in a bed, and he
was not acquainted with such things as
dining utensils and indoor toilets.
But the past three weeks have filled his
life with some experiences he'll never,
forget.
It all started three years ago when
Kelsey, a Misquito Indian boy who was'
then about 14, fell from a breadfruit tree
In the Honduran forest and damaged his
facial bones. Since then the condition had
worsened, his jaws had become almost
clenched shut and he could take no
nourishment but liquids. He faced the
possibility of starvation.
After examining Kelsey several weeks
ago. Dr. Samuel Marx, a Moravian Church
missionary doctor at Ahuas Clinic in
Honduras, got in contact with Dr.
Nicholas Georgiade at Duke by way of a
ham radio telephone "patch" arranged by
amateur radio operator Felix Whitaker of
Durham.
Dr. Georgiade, professor of plastic and
maxillofacial surgery, told Dr. Marx that
he had worked out a surgical procedure
for this type facial deformity that he had
been performing successfully for about
18 years, and that he would donate his
professional services at no charge if
arrangements could be made to get the
boy to Duke.
Working through the American
Embassy in Honduras, Dr. Marx made the
arrangements. Eastern Airlines and a
South American airline, TAN,
volunteered round-trip transportation for
Kelsey and a nurse, and the Moravian
Church agreed to cover hospitalization
expenses.
1
OFF COMES THE DRESSING-Dr. Nicholas Georgiade snips the dressing on
Kelsey Ambrosio's final day in the hospital. With them is Miss Helen Hodgson, a nurse
who accompanied the Honduran boy to Duke from the Ahuas Clinic in Honduras.
(photo by Thad Sparks)
Kelsey and Miss Helen Hodgson, an
English-speaking nurse from Dr. Marx'
clinic who also speaks Kelsey's dialect,
arrived in Durham three weeks ago and
the surgery was performed the following
week.
Now discharged from the hospital and
able to smile again, Kelsey will be back
home within the next few days.
Since Kelsey's release from Nott Ward
last week, he and Miss Hodgson have been
staying with Dr. and Mrs. McMurray S.
Richey. Dr. Richey is a professor in the
Duke Divinity School, and Mrs. Richey is
a sister of Dr. Marx in Honduras.
For a time while Kelsey was in the
hospital the Richeys were out of town.
During that time. Miss Hodgson stayed
with Miss Gloria Stevens, head nurse on
Howland Ward, who is no stranger to
Kelsey's part of the world herself.
Miss Stevens has spent time in
Nicaragua and worked with a
Duke-sponsored program establishing a
clinic at Pearl Lagoon.
SOMETHING NEW
In this issue of Intercom, we introduce
a new feature, "Cornered by the
Camera."
From time-to-time, our cameras will
snap you at candid moments during your
workday, and the picture may end up on
the pages of Intercom.
It's not our intention to picture
anyone in an awkward or embarrassing
situation, and we'll not do that.
We'd just like for everyone at Duke to
know everyone else, and we're working at
it—a picture at a time.