Mission for Ukraine

BRIEF UPDATE – A DOSE OF GOOD NEWS

Dear Family and Friends,

As we approach 1,000 days of nonstop, onslaught, slaughter and destruction from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we write to let you know that our Mission remains focused on what we can do to help those in need. Awash in less than good news about Ukraine and its future prospects, we have great news about our project for manufacturing prosthetic sockets for amputees in Ukraine.

The really good news is that the new prosthetic and rehabilitation clinic at the Transcarpathian Regional Hospital (TCRH) in western Ukraine will be open soon, probably next week. This pilot project will result in new limbs for hopefully 10-20 below knee amputees by the end of this year, allowing them mobility for the first time. The clinic is opening in a deliberate, methodical manner to ensure proper clinician training, patient fitting and safety, as well as patient rehabilitation with their new limb. If the pilot is successful, we plan to layer on more 3D printers at TRCH and other Ukrainian hospitals.

If you recall, our Mission has been working with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) over the past year to open a clinic for prosthetic manufacture, installation and rehabilitation at TCRH in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. We are also working with Invent Medical (Ostrava, Czech Republic) and Filaments Innovation (Allentown, Pennsylvania). TCRH has completely refurbished two areas to accommodate the prosthetic 3D printing and fitting as well as rehabilitation. Invent used our Mission’s 3D printer to reprogram and fine tune their proprietary software for scanning limbs and, importantly, working with Filaments and BCM, was able to improve on the raw material used in the printer to create the socket. Further, BCM decided on Bulldog Tools (Ohio-based socket liner and hardware provider) to provide the liner for the socket, hardware and foot and worked with Bulldog to refine their prosthetic products for the Ukraine clinic. All of these improvements will make a huge positive difference in the manufacture, fitting and durability of the final prosthetic products. The total cost for a new prosthetic, with all the parts, will be about $500 per person.

Last week, five TCRH amputation and rehabilitation clinicians travelled to Ostrava for training on our 3-D printer and other devices at Invent Medical’s headquarters. BCM and Filaments Innovation led the training with Invent Medical’s staff. The training was very successful. On completion of the training, our printer was shipped to the new TCRH clinic and next week will be, fingers crossed, making new prosthetic sockets. Frank and Bill will be at TCRH in Ukraine November 20th to 21st. We will report on the new clinic on their return.

They will also be in Warsaw next week meeting with our partners conducting art therapy and running a Ukrainian school. We plan to meet with “In The Meantime,” the courageous volunteer Polish medical corps saving lives on the front lines in Ukraine as well. We have been assisting in sourcing and providing life-saving medical equipment and supplies.

Below, we post photos from the last couple of weeks of various activities.

Again, we remain committed to delivering aid and relief to the many victims of this unfathomable war. Even if the war is over soon, we will have much to do to help the innocents in rebuilding their lives.

Thank you for your continued and generous support of our Mission.

Slava Ukraine!

Bill & Frank

BRIEF UPDATE – SEPTEMBER 6, 2024

Dear friends,

This is a short update on our Mission’s work since July 1. First, as you’ve read, the Russian response to Ukraine’s invasion has been a significant increase in bombing and destruction of civilian housing and infrastructure, resulting in new levels of killed or injured innocent civilians. Second, Russia’s advance on the eastern front has caused evacuation of tens of thousands, thus a new wave of internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the move. And, this new phase of the war means even more destruction of homes, hospitals and schools. Ukraine needs more supplies of food, bedding, medical equipment and medicines, pet food, clothing, and other items. And, with damage to the energy infrastructure, the country must prepare for another winter. While not always “front page” news, this war continues unabated, and our Mission will continue to do what we can for the people of Ukraine.

We are still working with our partner in Denmark, Fair Dog, and it’s leader, Charlotte Andersson. She and her group continue to receive truckloads of donations bound for Ukraine, although far less than before. Our Mission will continue to assist with the 18-wheeler transportation of these donations to where needed in Ukraine. Next week, they will send 28 pallets of food, pet food, medicines, clothing, medical equipment and other items to Ukraine. Charlotte also recognizes the need for a renewed effort to increase supplies for those IDPs and other civilians preparing for winter. We are looking for ways to increase the donations or to otherwise assist in transporting goods from Europe into Ukraine. Also, we have a contact in France who works with a group that has gathered and sent donations since the war began. Just this week, we made a small donation to enable transport of donated medical supplies from France to hospitals in eastern Ukraine. Several photos are posted in Updates below.

Our work with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) to establish a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) clinic in the Transcarpathian Regional Hospital in Uzhhorod, Ukraine remains on track. Current plans are to install our Mission’s 3-D printer (to initially “print” prosthetic sockets for below the knee amputations) and open the clinic in the hospital in early October. We will be transporting the 3D printer from Ostrava, Czechia to Ukraine and have started the lengthy export/import documentation process. This will be a milestone event for BCM, the Transcarpathian Regional Hospital and our Mission. But, most of all and more importantly, the clinic will be a godsend to the many men, women and children amputees in need of prosthetic devices in Ukraine.

As you can read and see from the recent updates below, our Mission’s art therapy program in Warsaw continues to serve hundreds of women and children each week. We are delighted with both Lilia and Ludmyla, whose tireless efforts bring joy and relief to so many. Our lunch program at the Warsaw Ukrainian school, Love Does, continued over the summer as many of the children were there for summer camp.

Back in 2023, we purchased one of the Przmesyl, Poland city buses. It was used to transport a large load of donated goods to Ukraine, but we have been looking for a better use. Health Rite (a US NGO doing all manner of psychological treatment in Ukraine) were interested in using it as a mobile therapy clinic, but they preferred a smaller vehicle. Humanitarian Innovation Group, the Polish NGO developing after school learning labs in Ukraine, may refurbish the bus for a mobile learning lab. We are hopeful that can be done.

Once more, we are grateful for your financial support and encouragement and without such we would not be able to maintain our Mission. Thank you very much.

Slava Ukraine!

Bill & Frank

May 2024: Travel to Poland and Ukraine.

An update since our 2023 Annual Report.

Frank and Bill H. recently spent nine days in Poland and Ukraine meeting with partners and confirming the viability of the new prosthetics clinic at a regional hospital in Western Ukraine, using a 3D printer.

The 3D printer purchased by our Mission and shipped to Ostrava, Czech Republic (for software calibration by Invent Medical) will be moved in August to the new clinic in Ukraine. As we reported in early March, Invent Medical is a leading prosthetics and rehabilitation device developer using 3D printing technology.

This 3D printer will be one of the first, or maybe the first, 3D printer that will be used for making below the knee prosthetic sockets in Ukraine. This will significantly reduce the time to make leg sockets from two days to four hours. Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) will oversee the training of Ukrainian hospital staff and installation of the printer at the Transcarpathian Regional Hospital in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. This first 3D printer will be a pilot program and, if successful, will likely lead to dozens of 3D printers at hospitals across Ukraine. BCM estimates Ukraine has 30,000 men, women and children with below the knee amputations. With one 3D printer, BCM estimates the new clinic can make 150-200 prosthetic sockets by year end and 1000 or more next year.

Our Mission’s 3D printer is manufactured by Filament Innovations (Allentown, PA) and the company’s founder (Mike Gorski) met BCM at Invent Medical’s offices in Ostrava in late May. While there, Jared Howell (BCM) and Mike Gorski worked with Invent Medical on several successful tests of our 3D printer. Both said the prosthetic sockets made in Ostrava exceeded expectations for a new socket, which was fitted on an existing amputee patient.

We travelled to Uzhhorod, Ukraine, and met with with Yuri Yatsyna, Chief Administrator of the Trannscarpathian Regional Hospital, along with Jared Howell and Mike Gorski. Importantly, we confirmed that Trannscarpathian Regional Hospital will be set up and ready to receive our 3D printer in August. Mr. Yatsyna confirmed the hospital will have renovated space available and sufficient hospital rehabilitation staff to manage the new clinic. We left the meeting in Uzhhorod knowing that our Mission’s effort to establish a new 3D-capable prosthetics clinic in Ukraine, which started with our first trip with BCM and Texas Children’s Hospital teams last October, will become a reality in August! More importantly, the new clinic can now provide amputees with sockets and full prosthetics, enabling them to become mobile once more and start rehabilitation.

Before traveling to western Ukraine via Slovakia, we also met with several Mission partners in Warsaw.

In summary, our meetings with BCM and Filaments Innovation at the Trannscarpathian Regional Hospital was a significant milestone to confirm the hospital and staff will be ready for our Mission’s 3D printer in the new prosthetics clinic under BCM’s auspices. And, we were delighted with the exceptional results from our 3D printer’s tests in Ostrava. Further, our meetings and time spent with partners in Warsaw were useful to witness their important work with Ukrainian refugees, discuss ways to improve, and hear their continued desire to support and aid Ukrainian refugees in Poland and work in Ukraine. In our travels, we were reminded daily of how important our work, albeit small scale, is and will continue to be to hundreds of Ukrainians harmed by this tragic war.

As always, we thank you for your continued support, both financially and personally. It is truly unbelievable that this conflict continues. Indeed, the need to render aid to those impacted by this tragedy has not diminished. Our methods and long-term outlook has changed, but the Mission stays its course.

Thank you. Slava Ukraine!