Pelensky Joassin spent the past two months at Syracuse's Ronald McDonald House while recovering from surgery at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital.
/ Katie Corrado
SYRACUSE -- Eight-year-old Pelensky Joassin is from Haiti, but has spent the last two months in Central New York receiving much-needed medical care.
Pelensky was run over by a truck in 2009, suffering from massive internal bleeding and a crushed pelvis. Haitian doctors were unable to provide the medical care Pelensky needed.
A program called Partners in Health brought Pelensky and his father to Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital for treatment. For the past two months, they have been living in Syracuse's Ronald McDonald House.
Now, with medical treatments complete, Pelensky and his dad are heading back to Haiti, and said goodbye to Pelensky's doctor on Saturday.
That doctor, Dr. Jonathan Riddler, a pediatric urologist at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital, also believed he benefitted from treating Pelensky. "One of the great joys I get is treating kids, and to be able to use the techniques and expertise I've acquired to help someone is the gratification I seek every day," said Dr. Riddler.
Through a translator, Pelensky said he looks forward to going home and playing with his friends, living the healthy life of an eight-year-old boy.
