Jackson is Dying

INBOX - MESSAGE DISPLAY

I e-mailed Sister Judith Ann from Haiti on December 1, 2005.

Dear Sister,

We arrived in Haiti yesterday and Jackson showed up this morning with his mother and sister. They carried him alot of the way because he is so swollen he cannot walk. It took them 3 hours to get here. They left at 5 in the morning in the dark. Jackson seems to be dying from congestive heart failure and his kidneys are not making urine. He cannot breathe well of course and cannot eat or sleep. He has mitral valve disease. There are not good alternatives for Jackson in Haiti now. He needs to come to Peoria to be evaluated. He is being suffocated physically by his dysfunctional heart and the systems that marginalize poor people like him. He knows how well he felt in Peoria after his surgeries. He does not understand why we don't take him back to St. Francis Hospital and his host families. He is 21 years old now. Jackson has been taking his meds we gave him in September from Peoria. He needed surgery then as I begged you for back then. Keith, Jackson and his mom are not laughing as they watch him suffocate. He is sitting in our room right now working hard to get each breath. Think about your actions the last 4 years. Mr. Marshall, think about your smug answers now over the last few years stating that I could find other medical centers for kids like Jackson as you and OSF washed your hands of former CHOI patients that happen to be Haitian Hearts kids. Your answers did not help Jackson and others like him. Think about Jackson today and pray for him, Doug. You and OSF had the chance to respond in the Christian way...Sister, call me or e mail me and give the ok for Jackson to come to OSF--Paul knows the letter to write and Dr. Geiss has never turned down a child. Don't let Jackson and OSF's mission philosophy die together.

Sincerely,

John Carroll

(I did not get an answer from Sister Judith Ann, Keith Steffen, or Doug Marshall.)