Children's Hospital Colorado Lends a Helping Hand to Chilean Children

Five Chilean children recently traveled more than 5,000 miles to Children's Hospital Colorado to receive medical care. The Chilean hospital where the children, ages 1 to 14, were supposed to receive urological surgery, is now in shambles after a devastating earthquake struck the country in February. Due to the destruction of the hospital, the children were put on a waiting list for medical care that would have lasted at least two years.

When the the children arrived in Colorado they were a little nervous about their upcoming surgeries. However, when they arrived at Children's Hospital Colorado, they were delighted by the facility, its playrooms, bright colors and friendly staff. It was a huge contrast to the scary stark white hospitals that they are used to in Chile.

"When they first walked in, the sheer excitement on their faces when they saw the playroom was just amazing," said Jammie Reichel, clinical manager at Children's Colorado who was in charge of logistics and planning for the Chilean families. "They were just in awe of everything."

The children from Chile were all in need of surgeries for congenital disorders because they were born with structural defects that affect their urinary systems. The operations would have cost the families thousands of dollars and they wouldn't have been able to afford the medical care, so Children's Colorado assisted the families in providing the surgeries.