stlmomsworld.com - Kay Quinn

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Chance Of A Lifetime

Imagine traveling eight thousand miles from home. The trip takes you three days. You've never flown on a plane, ridden an escalator, or eaten the food. You've never seen an American bathroom. And you're in pain.
That's what 30 year old Beyene (pronounced Bye-annie) Tadesse has experienced this week. He's from a small village hours from Ethiopia's capitol of Addis Ababa. He only left his village because the tumor was growing and he had been told maybe someone at the Catholic health facility in Addis Ababa could help.
For ten years he's watched the tumor on the right side of his jaw grow to the size of a grapefruit. Visiting surgical teams had tried to operate before, but no one could remove it.
Beyene was befriended by Dr. Rick Hodes. He is a story in himself. Dr. Hodes is an American doctor whose spent the last 20 years of his life practicing medicine in Ethiopia. He's adopted 20 children in that time. And he flies thousands of miles a year helping Ethiopians get medical care in the U.S.
Beyene will have two operations in the next six weeks at St. John's Mercy Medical Center. For the first time, this man who is illiterate, and whose parents are both dead, is hoping for a break in life.
I'll keep you posted on how Beyene is doing. In the meantine, check out his story at ksdk.com

¶ 8:27 PM

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Name: Kay Quinn

Location: St. Louis, MO

ABOUT ME

Health and medical issues make up one of the most exciting beats in the newsroom. Few other areas of news touch each and every one of us so closely and so often.

Whether you're a senior worried about paying for prescription drugs, a parent concerned about the health of a child or waging your own fight against cancer or heart disease, you can usually find health news that applies to you in my daily reports.

I always tell St. Louisans they are so fortunate when it comes to health care. Our city is home to two research hospitals.

Doctors and scientists at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis University School of Medicine are involved in some of the most critical research underway in medicine today.

Work is bring done right at this moment, right in our area, that could lead to a vaccine for bird flu or better ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's disease.

I enjoy staying on top of those stories, as well as bringing you health and medical news you can use.

Along with the latest medical breakthroughs, you'll frequently find information on low-cost exercise programs right around the corner from where you live, or details on where to get this year's flu shot.

Many viewers want to know whether I have a medical background. I don't, but my mother was a nurse and I know her health background made a big impression on me as a child.

It's the lifelong curiosity and interest I have in health issues that serves me well in my work as health reporter.

Staying on top of what you need to know to stay fit and healthy is a job I love.