MEDICAL MISSION TO PERU - http://juanjuiproject.blogspot.com/

Please visit the above link for information regarding a medical mission sponsored by The Luz Fund to the hometown of Luz and her family in Juanjui Peru.

Welcome

Welcome and many thanks for visiting the weblog of Luz Estephanie Machiavello del Castillo. Luz will be returning to Tampa in January 2018. Her appointment at Shriners for 2018 will be January 17. There is a good possibility that Luz' sister, Giuliana, may also accompany her. Luz has grown since we last saw her in March 2017. Hilmer has said that she is excelling in school. Please take note of the article below on the right to see how you can help make her visit more comfortable. You will be able to see updates on Luz and her progress as she proceeds along the path that will again enable her to grow in the confidence and stature of a beautiful little girl. Stay tuned.



Please remember that posts are listed in reverse order with new posts at the top of the page. To read older posts you need to scroll down the page.



*Click on photos for a larger view



Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Girl in Town - Dec 30


A second child from Peru, Veronica, arrived today at Tampa Airport. She and her mother, Ynez, will join Luz at their quarters in east Tampa. Veronica has spent the past sixteen months in the Pediatric Ortho Ward at Los Ninos Hospital, Lima, Peru. Veronica is nine years old and a triple amputee and has been accepted as a patient at Shriners, Tampa, the same as Luz. They became instant friends. Luz is missing part of her right arm, Veronica is missing part of her left arm. Veronica also has no legs. We have started a weblog for Veronica, just as we did this one for Luz. Veronica's weblog is located at: http://veronica-andes.blogspot.com/
If you think you might want to edit and publish the blog for Veronica let me know. It is really an easy task and will give a different writing perspective to Veronica's blog as opposed to Luz'.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas Day 2008




After dinner on Christmas Eve, we cut out and glued construction paper decorations and hung them on the tree. Soon Luz fell fast asleep and Nancy and I said our goodnights and left before Santa Claus arrived. On Christmas Day we found that Santa had left many gifts under the tree. Luz finished with her decorations and opened gifts. Papa Noel had found Luz in spite of the distance from her home.

We all agreed, with no lights or commercial decorations, it was the most beautiful Christmas tree we had seen.

A turkey dinner with all the trimmings, even a pumpkin pie made the day perfect.


Christmas Eve


Luz arrived in Tampa on Christmas Eve after a long journey from her village of Juanjui, Peru. She slept through much of the boat and plane rides over the 2 1/2 days of travel and arrived at Tampa Airport at 10:00 AM Christmas Eve. After a short rest period at the house, we headed to Sacred Heart Church in Tampa for the Childrens Christmas Pageant and Christmas Eve Mass.

Eliana arrived by train from Miami, where her flight from Peru landed yesterday but there was no connecting flight to Tampa. After mass we met Eli at the train station and headed back to the house for a waiting Christmas Eve dinner of Chicken, Yellow Rice, Black Beans and Tamales. It was good to have our little girl back with us again.

An artificial Christmas Tree had appeared but lacked any decorations. What better way to spend Christmas Eve than with those you love making decorations for a Christmas tree. More later.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Additional Thanks

Luz has friends in Jacksonville, Florida.
If you are hungry and in Jacksonville, FL, or anyplace within 100 miles of Jacksonville, it would be worth the effort to head to Piscos Restaurant. Sorry, no "Cuy", but everything else Peruvian can be found on the great menu, put together by Virginia and her staff. Evelyn or Elise will be happy to serve you. In my own opinion, the Parihuela is the best. While there, drop a donation in the jar for Luz.
Piscos Restaurant
Pescados, Mariscos y Comida Criolla
4131 Southside Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32216
Tel: 904 646 3888

Additional locations where you can find donation containers have been established at:
Rene's Barbershop
306 W. Robertson Ave
Brandon
(near the SunTrust Drive thru)
See Teri or Rene for the best haircuts.
They made me look like Brad Pitt
Well.....almost...

The Young Texans Produce
South Parsons at Wheeler Road
Brandon
Only the best, Produce, Plants,
Paving Stones and Landscaping.
Their Boiled Peanuts are the best.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanks local merchants


Thanks are due to several local business establishments for their support of the Luz medical Expense Fund. Carisa Cannon, a writer for the Osprey Observer, located in Brandon,(http://www.ospreyobserver.com/), was kind enough to write an article about Luz and our efforts.
Also with offerings of support are several restaurants and cafes located in the Brandon/Tampa areas who have posted the flyer and a donation jar, shown on the right above.
Those locations are:
Sabero Latin Cuisine
(Not a typical Spanish Restaurant)
MLK Blvd & Lakewood Rd.
Mango, Florida
Liborios Latin Cafe
813-623-1318
8210 Causeway Blvd
Tampa, FL
Tapas Restaurant
813-621-8666
(Pinewood Business Park)
1202 Tech Blvd
Brandon, FL
LaCubanita Restaurant
813-661-2253
723 Lumsden Rd
Brandon, FL
I can personally attest to the quality and taste of their menu items. All have take out dinners and great food, cuban sandwiches and Cafe con Leche. So the next time you don't feel like cooking stop by, and drop a few bills in the jar for Luz.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Travel Delay for Luz

The latest information from Peru is that Luz arrival in Tampa will need to be delayed until later in the year, possibly late December or even January. There are some identification issues with the US Embassy in Lima that need to be arranged. Luz school teacher has also suggested that it would be best if Luz could finish the current school year, December 20, so she would not need to repeat a grade.
Please continue to consider your support for Luz and contributions to the expense fund set up for her. Information is provided in the right hand margin of this blog. Thanks for your continued interest.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Luz is returning to Tampa

October 20, 2008 is set for Luz first appointment back at Shriners Hospital. She is anxiously looking forward to visiting Tampa again. Although the date is set, there are still visa applications to process before we can officially say what date she will arrive. The US Embassy in Lima, Peru, holds that key.

Again I want to thank all who contributed to support the transportaion and living expenses of Luz and her Dad, Hilmer last year. We were able to feed Luz all the ice cream she could eat and sent them home with a small amount to help ease the strain of Hilmer being unable to run the family farm for the nine weeks they were here in Tampa. We hope you can again help provide the comfort to make them feel at home. Directions for contributions are listed on the right side of this blog. If you need additional information please feel free to call me at any time. Cell# 813-215-0071.