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Child Saved by Rotary's Gift of Life

The Rotary motto, "Service above Self," is in full force at its Locust Valley chapter. Their membership embraced the Gift of Life program by recently arranging for heart surgery for a seven-year-old Ecuadorian girl named Dayana Pupiales. Dayana was born with an undeveloped left ventricle and malformed blood vessels leading from the heart. Rotary member Margaret Lavin, a partner in the new Locust Valley shop Sto's Clothing and Shoes and a resident of Lattingtown, took the lead in Dayana's case. She and her husband Eamon, a graduate of Friends Academy, donated the $10,000 needed to bring the girl here for her surgery. Mrs. Lavin is fluent in Spanish and has served as a translator for Dayana and her mother Nancy while they have been on Long Island.
Mrs. Lavin explained, "It's been touch and go. Dayana's chest incision was left open for three weeks due to complications. When they tried to close her up, she began bleeding and needed transfusions. We were told she might not make it, but she pulled through." This was followed by fevers and a blood clot scare, but she is now on the road to recovery. The Rotary also arranged for Dayana's father Miguel to get a visa and fly here to be with his daughter. Now that Dayana is on the mend, the Lavins plan to have her and her mother stay at their home until the girl is strong enough to fly back to Ecuador. Mrs. Lavin said, "We hope when she comes here she'll be able to heal faster. She'll be with us for at least two or three weeks."
Dayana's surgeon was Dr. Samuel Weinstein, a pediatric heart and lung surgeon who has been involved in the Gift of Life program since coming to Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx three years ago. "Dayana was a very, very high risk patient," said Weinstein. "We explained this to her mother, and she gave us permission to go ahead with the operation." Dr. Weinstein also donates his skills by traveling to Central and South America to do surgeries. Regarding Gift of Life, he stated, "It's a wonderful program, and Montefiore is the biggest participating medical center in this area."
On May 10th, the Gift of Life program hosted the Care Crusade of the Heart Gala at the Chateau Briand in Carle Place. Over 300 guests attended, to include national spokesperson Chad Everett. Special honors were give to Alan and Tatiana Forman who have personally sponsored over 40 children. Another honoree at the blacktie affair was Dr. Henry Guerci, the president and CEO of St. Francis Hospital. Several patients who have benefitted from Gift of Life over the years were also present at the fundraiser. The Gift of Life program was started by the Manhasset Rotary in 1975. Since then, it has spread to all Nassau County chapters, with each chapter sponsoring a child. The children are treated at either Montefiore or St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn. "Doing something like this gives you peace - you're doing your share as a human being, and are giving a piece of yourself back to society, making the world a better place," stated Mrs. Lavin.
The mission of Rotary International, a worldwide association of Rotary clubs, is to provide service to others, to promote high ethical standards, and to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed in 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wanted to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The Rotary name was derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices. Rotary's popularity spread, and within a decade, clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York to Winnipeg, Canada. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents. For more information, please call 516-504-0830 or visit giftoflifeinternational.org.

• Chris Roberts