Israel Matzav: IDF hospital diagnoses 4-year old Haitian boy with leukemia

IDF hospital diagnoses 4-year old Haitian boy with leukemia

This is Mike. Mike is 4-years old. The IDF hospital in Haiti has diagnosed Mike with leukemia. Who will treat him and where? If he were an Arab kid from the 'Palestinian Authority' or Jordan (among other places), he'd be treated here in Israel. But will he and his family come halfway around the world to be treated here?

Nope. There are some good people in the United States who are going to take care of Mike. An organization called God's Planet is transferring Mike to the University of Miami for treatment. You can see a picture of Mike and his Dad with two IDF doctors here.

Here's Mike's full story:

Mike, a four year old Hatian boy, who was brought to the IDF field hospital in Port-au-Prince this morning by his father because of vomiting and weakness. Mike, his two siblings and his parents had been living on the street since the earthquake because their house was destroyed.

Dr. Amit Assa ran blood tests, and diagnosed him with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, most likely M5. Given the diagnosis, Mike will most likely need chemotherapy and probably a bone marrow transplant.

Because the IDF field hospital is not equipped to deal with such long-term and complex treatments, and because his condition was urgent, we tried to find an organization to arrange for him to go to the United States and recieve treatment there. There was an overwhelming and rapid response from many different individuals and organizations, and a few hours ago a group called “God’s Planet” came to the field hospital to pick up Mike and take him to Miami Hospital where he will be recieving treatment for his cancer.

Refuah Shleima Mike!

Israel Matzav: IDF hospital diagnoses 4-year old Haitian boy with leukemia