U.S. TV Personality Greta Van Susteren Helps Transform Liberian Boy
For years, Greta Van Susteren has been a familiar face on US cable news network CNN and Fox.
But it is what she recently accomplished in Liberia that has many singing her praise.
The legal analyst who was a regular feature during the OJ Simpson trial first came in interest in the case of a young Liberian boy named Sampson after reading a tweet on Twitter.
Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Greta was awarded a Bachelor’s degree with Distinction in Economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1976.
In 1979, she was awarded a law degree and, in 1982, a master of laws in trial advocacy from Georgetown Law Center, serving as a civil and criminal attorney in Wisconsin for several years.
Shje became a legal analyst at CNN in 1991, and was also co-host of the network’s legal talk show, “Burden of Proof”, around the same time.
Prior to meeting Van Susteren, Sampson, 15, was struggling with a severe facial deformity. He was abandoned by his mother as an infant and his father died from Ebola.
Moved by Sampson’s plight, Van Susteren She set up a Gofundme page and began to solicit help.
She wrote:
I know you have a big heart. I also know you want to help…one look at this child – and we all want to help.
Americans are like that. I also know you want to help…one look at this child – and we all want to help. Americans are like that.
This child – with this terrible deformity already covering 100% of one eye and partly covering the other – is in deep need.
He is an orphan in Liberia.
His mother has never been in the picture and his father died 2 years ago from Ebola.
He is now facing total blindness (see his eyes) but you and I together could stop that from happening.
We could his change his life – together. His vision could be likely saved and his facial deformity can also get fixed.”
Greta recalls that last October, she causally tweeted that she was heading to Liberia to help Samaritan’s Purse and Reverend Franklin Graham dedicate the ELWA hospital when someone living in the US saw her tweet and tweeted her asking if she would be interested in helping ‘some boy’ named Sampson.
“Some boy. Some boy? Who? I don’t know how it happened, but the tweet, among my thousands of tweets, caught my attention and I replied with something like “tell me more.” Greta says she was then sent a picture of the and became hooked on his story.
“How could I not want to help him? I wanted to help – but how? How could I possibly find this child in the nation of Liberia? I asked the person who tweeted me the pic, where is the boy?
And then began the journey. We had very few details about the boy but staff at Samaritan’s Purse in Liberia, always industrious, found him. ”
“They found him 3 plus hours away from Monrovia, Liberia in a jungle village.” Sampson was then taken to the Samaritan’s Purse doctor in Monrovia who examined him and said that Sampson needed an MRI which could only be done in next door Ghana because Liberia does not have such facilities.
“How could we do that? This child didn’t have a passport and certainly no money,” Greta wrote. She did not stop there. Greta, while still in Liberia, posted a photo of Sampson on her Facebook page explaining what she was doing in Liberia and posted a photo of Sampson, lamenting how his condition had captured her heart. Greta says a short while later, she recalls that she received an email from Dr. Jennifer Ashton, formerly of Fox News but now of ABC News.
“In short, Jennifer said, “I am in. How can I help? My brother is a specialist in this type of medical crisis.
I will call him. The next thing I knew I was speaking to her also very kind hearted brother, Dr. Even Garfein.
He said, “bring him to the USA and I will do what I can to fix this.” He volunteered his services.” Greta says she refused to turn her back on Sampson, who somehow randomly ended up in her life.
“There are more than 1 million who follow me on Facebook….just think….do the math – if many give $10 or even $1, we can do it. We can make a huge difference in this child’s life.”
Last week, Greta posted on her Facebook page that Sampson had undergone successful surgery and was received by friends and loved ones upon his arrival at the Roberts International Airport.
“Sampson is beginning his journey home (I will be traveling with him on the legs from USA to Monrovia Liberia and then on to his village in the jungle of Liberia).
His friends in Minnesota and at the Mayo Clinic are going to miss him and he will miss them. Sampson pulled a cross off his neck and gave it to Seth this morning. Seth said “you are my best friend. I will never forget you”
Seth is the 15-year old son of the Bayles family who made contributions to bring three children from Mongolia to the US for heart surgery through the Children’s Heart Project, a Samaritan’s Purse program. Seth, became good friends.
Seth has a rare autoimmune disorder. His symptoms first manifested in 2007 when he was 7 years old.
Since that time, doctors have worked tirelessly to find answers, eventually referring him to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.”
“Seth and his mother, Julie, now make regular trips to Mayo from their home in Wisconsin for his ongoing treatment.
Greta posted appreciation to the many of her followers on Facebook, who were part of Sampson’s journey.
“I have added a picture of how Sampson did look, and how he was suffering before everyone pitched in and changed his life. ”
“We all worked together — We also saved his vision!
He would have lost his vision in his left eye and so much worse from these tumors.”
Many like Ann Lauby Evett were in awe.
“This has to be an emotional time for this boy. My heart goes out to him for the emotions he has to be feeling. God go with him and I pray for his continued service to our God and for his family.
Others say it so much better than I but I pray for all god things for you and your future. I feel a part of me is leaving America. God bless you.”
Rev. Emmanuel Jones, an advocate for orphans in Liberia, lamented: “When I saw this little boy photos here in Monrovia for the first and saw him two weeks later, I realised these are some of the everyday pains we Africans have to live with.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in Jesus and have in Him but when you in a region where you get so used to pain all your life (war- hunger-Ebola-orphans-etc) you become too strong at heart.
My last thought was that this little boy was going to be part of the statistics of death and we forgot about him. Greta, I believe that you made Jesus smile because of your action. Thank you for blessing one of these little ones of his.”
God bless you Greta, and bless this little one. Jesus is smiling.
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