Joseline Vasquez, a 2-year-old child from Guatemala, is at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital recovering from surgery to remove a large tumor that had grown to the same size as her head. The surgery was funded by Brentwood-based Shalom Foundation, which has a video on its site featuring Dr. Stephen Goudy, who conducted the surgery. As discussed by Dr. Goudy, the Shalom Foundation is currently focusing its donations on Guatemala.

Vanderbilt Children's Hospital International Services is blogging Joseline's visit here with both stories and a slide show.

WKRN and NewsChannel5 have text and video reports here and here.

From NewsChannel5:

A 2-year-old Guatemalan girl is recovering from surgery to remove a neck tumor at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Joseline Vasquez had a lymphatic malformation on her neck since birth. The mass has grown as much as she has as lymph fluid created a cyst on her neck.

"Obviously these things are big water balloons or cysts and if she gets a cold the cyst can swell which could compress her breathing tube and swallowing tube, which could be life threatening," said Dr. Steven Goudy.
...
Her surgery was funded by the Brentwood-based Shalom Foundation, which provides financial support and physical assistance for children and their families. A team of doctors perform surgeries such as this on two to three foreign children each year.

Image source: Vanderbilt Children's Hospital International Services

Labels: guatemala, health