On Wednesday evening November 4, Esther Tudo, age 5, arrived in St. Louis.

estherrachel

Esther and a new friend at Karen Smith's house in Webster Groves, MO.

It was a journey that began many months and thousands of miles ago. Esther lives with her adopted family, the Kendagors,  in Kapenguria, Kenya. Her father who is deaf, was unable to care for her. Her mother is dead.

Earlier last year a tumor began growing around Esther’s carotid artery.  In June, Karen Smith, founder of Get The Word Out Missions met Esther for about an hour. Karen was moved to reach out for help for Esther.

Since then, people from all over the United States and Kenya have been called by God to be part of Esther’s story. Dr. Jeff Michalski of Washington University Medical School took it upon himself to become Esther’s advocate . Dr. David Wilson of BJC St. Louis Children’s Hospital completed the myriad of paperwork and coordination with ancillary services to get her treated. Doug Vanderslice, CFO of BJC Children’s remained ever-helpful and positive.

When it became difficult to obtain Esther’s medical history for Children’s, Peggy Hart of Atlanta, who had missionary connections in Kenya, contacted her friend Isabella Mbai, who heads the nursing faculty at the teaching hospital in Eldoret, Kenya where Esther had been treated. Isabella obtained the records.

After BJC Children’s Hospital doctors agreed to work pro bono and the hospital agreed to pay for Esther’s treatment it appeared that there would be a delay in issuing a travel visa. Denise Hasty, vice president of government affairs/public relations at the Associated General Contractors of St. Louis contacted her friend Katy Disinger,  constituent service representative for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. Within a day Sen. McKaskill sent a letter to the Counsel General at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, who immediately expedited Esther’s visa.

Nearly $4,000 in plane fare for Esther and her guardian was collected in a few days. The Rock Baptist Church in Rock Hill, MO raised $1,600 in one Sunday collection, with individuals donating the rest.

Thursday Esther had one test at Children’s Hospital. While Esther had an appointment scheduled in David Wilson’s office, Dr. Wilson, who heads pediatric oncology at Children’s and is an associate professor at Washington University School of medicine, made a point of coming down to the waiting room to meet her, her stepsister and guardian Naomi Kendagor who traveled with her from Kenya, and Karen Smith.

Thursday evening Esther was playing and smiling at Karen Smith’s Webster Groves home, where she and Naomi will stay while she is in St. Louis for treatment.