30112: Hermantin(News)Haitian teen gets her wish: to meet President Bush (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Posted on Wed, Feb. 28, 2007


Haitian teen gets her wish: to meet President Bush
BY EVAN S. BENN AND TRENTON DANIEL
Almost two years after Miami doctors removed a life-threatening tumor from her 
face, Haitian teenager Dahana Stephanie David will have a chance to thank one 
of the people she credits for saving her life.
Dahana, 17, will meet President Bush today at the White House.

She doesn't speak English, but she learned the words to God Bless America, 
which she plans to sing to Bush. She also learned to say ``I love you, 
President.''

''It's a beautiful country because you have hospitals and doctors and you don't 
have suffering,'' Dahana said, speaking Haitian Creole, Tuesday night.

Dahana wants to thank Bush for leading a country where she was able to regain a 
normal life.

She came here from Haiti in June 2005 through the help of charitable Broward 
County twin sisters Ginette and Gina Eugene.

The Eugene sisters, both nurses, raised money for Dahana's care along with the 
International Kids Fund, a charity program that helps find medical treatment 
for critically ill children from other countries.

They are the same sisters who helped find treatment for Marlie Casseus, another 
Haitian teen who came to Miami to have a 16-pound tumor removed from her face 
last year. The melon-size mass took away Marlie's ability to speak and nearly 
choked and blinded her. The International Kids Fund, the Eugene twins and 
Jackson Memorial Hospital surgeon Dr. Jesus Gomez helped Marlie, now 15, resume 
a more normal life.

Gomez also performed a nine-hour surgery to remove the three-pound tumor from 
Dahana's face at Jackson Memorial Hospital. At the time, Dahana thanked him 
with a note that said, ``I love you, Jesus.''

The surgery brightened Dahana's life almost immediately. She used to be 
self-conscious, covering her face in front of strangers and hiding in closets.

Now, she smiles. She describes herself as pretty, and she talks about a 
modeling career.

''I want to be a model because I want to represent Haiti,'' said Dahana, a 
resident of the northern seaside Haitian town of Port-de-Paix.

Because her tumor could have killed her, Dahana was able to request a wish 
through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, said Maria Luisa Chea, executive director 
of the International Kids Fund.

''Most kids want to go to Disney or get a new computer, but Dahana wanted to 
meet the president,'' Chea said.

Because of Bush's busy schedule, Dahana had to wait awhile before her wish 
could be granted, Chea said. Last week, she said, the White House called to say 
there would be an opening in the president's appointment book for Dahana this 
afternoon.

The White House did not reply to a request Tuesday to confirm the president's 
meeting with Dahana.

Dahana moved back to Haiti several months ago. When they found out about the 
chance to see the president, the Eugene sisters arranged for Dahana to fly back 
to South Florida.

She will board a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Washington with the Eugene 
sisters this morning, and a limousine will take them to the White House.

''We don't know exactly what time, I guess because of security reasons,'' 
Ginette Eugene said.

``But she is so excited. She can't wait. She is so grateful of this country and 
what the people here did for her.''

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