[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21622-21623]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          NORTH TEXANS EMBRACE A VICTIM AND NURTURE A SURVIVOR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAY GRANGER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2005

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I want to tell America about a very special 
girl named Aurica and the very special people who are helping her.
  In April, 2005, Congresswoman Deborah Pryce led a Congressional 
delegation on a fact-finding mission to Albania, Moldova, Italy and 
Greece. Congresswoman Thelma Drake and I accompanied Ms. Pryce to see 
the effects of the growing epidemic of sex trafficking in women and 
children. Our finding? That sex trafficking is a real and growing 
threat to women and children everywhere. Our solution? To fight for the 
rights of these precious victims one person at a time.
  It was during our trip to Moldova, that I first met Aurica. What an 
amazing young woman. We were visiting a shelter housing girls--most in 
their teens--who had been victims of sex trafficking. These women had 
been brought back to their homeland and were being taken care of with 
the hopes they could in some way return to normal lives after their 
horrendous experiences.
  We had spoken with these women and were leaving when the director of 
the program said there was one young woman who was unable to join the 
group. She was bedridden and very ill, but was willing to meet with us. 
Thus began our adventure. What we saw was a beautiful 19-year old with 
haunted eyes--unable to walk, unable to eat, unable to leave her bed.
  Aurica had left her country to go to Turkey to work in a shop, hoping 
to send money home to her family to help support them. While she was 
there, she was kidnapped and placed in a building with others like 
herself who had been tricked and kidnapped to become sex slaves. In her 
desperation to avoid the plight she heard from others, she climbed out 
of a window in the dead of night. But it was late and she was tired. At 
the sixth floor, she lost her grip and fell to the ground. When she was 
found, her back was broken, and her leg, and her pelvis were broken. 
After being treated at the hospital, she was taken to a prison. The 
iron walls of confinement did little to improve her condition.
  Her doctors and her family secured her release from Turkey. She was 
brought home and was treated at the International Organization for 
Migration. And it was here, amid the dark clouds of pain and suffering, 
that I saw Aurica's sunlight. And so she was so brave, so tough, and 
yet so in need of so much help. She needed surgery. But the surgery 
would have been difficult if not impossible in her country. We talked 
to her. We could see the pain on her face. Yet we could also see the 
courage in her eyes.
  It has been said that every journey begins with a single step. That 
April day, I decided to do my part to fight sex trafficking by saving 
at least one person--Aurica. And we embarked on a journey to give her 
the health care she deserved, desired, and desperately needed. The 
first step was a phone call. Pedro Nosnik is a specialist in neurology 
and internal medicine. I explained to Dr. Nosnik what had happened to 
Aurica and asked a simple question: Can you help? Dr. Nosnik set us up 
with Dr. Ralph Raushbaum of the Texas Back Institute in Plano, the 
largest spine specialty clinic in the United States. TBI physicians, 
led by Dr. Barton Sachs, volunteered to treat Aurica at no expense. 
This type of care would normally cost more than $200,000.
  The next step was getting her to the hospital. Before the treatment, 
we had to deal with the issue of travel. Her condition ruled out a 
flight on a commercial airline. She would need to fly on a plane 
equipped for patients. Once more, Americans were there to donate their 
services. Rod Crane, the CEO of MedFlight of Ohio offered to transport 
Aurica on an air ambulance. Normally, this would cost $80,000. But Rod 
agreed to pay for the flight and for a doctor to travel with Aurica.

[[Page 21623]]

  The next step was the actual surgery and recovery. Once Aurica got to 
Dallas, she got the treatment she needed. But the road wasn't easy. She 
underwent surgery at TBI. Dr. Barton Sachs led a team of physicians 
during the initial delicate spinal surgery and aftercare. This team 
included William Struthers, M.D., Anesthesiologist, Ted Wen, M.D., 
Radiologist, Nayan Patel, M.D., Physiatrist, John Josephs, M.D., 
General Surgeon, Stephen Rubin, D.O., Anesthesiologist, Son Do, M.D., 
Gastroenterologist, Mike Gross, M.D., Urologist, James Montgomery, 
M.D., Anesthesiologist, Andrew R. Block, Ph.D., Psychologist, Michael 
Blackmon, M.D., Intensive Care Specialist, and Mark McQuaid, M.D., 
General Vascular Surgeon. This was followed by a second surgery under 
the care of Dr. Alan Jones at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. After that, 
she spent three weeks recovering at the highly-acclaimed Zale Lipshy 
Center located on the UT Southwestern campus. All donated.
  Finally, Aurica's journey took her to four months of recovery in 
outpatient physical therapy. Since she needed a place to stay, we 
contacted David Tesmer, Vice President for Government and Community 
Affairs at Texas Health Resources. He offered the services of 
Presbyterian Village North in Dallas, one of the best assisted-living 
facilities in the state. At Presbyterian Village, both the President, 
Ron Bergstrom, and the lead nurse, Becky Williams, made every effort to 
give Aurica every comfort. When Aurica arrived, she was given a fully 
furnished room. And today, thanks to the love of so many, Aurica is on 
the way to a full recovery.
  What a journey this has been. This is the story of a very special 
woman and the very special people who have helped with her recovery. 
From time to time we hear critics complain about what is wrong with 
America. This story shows us what is right with America. We are still a 
nation that is great because our people are good. And not just the ones 
I named. There are still others.
  Like The Kula Group for donating more than $30,000 in time and 
expenses; the Texas Back Institute's Physical Therapy division, which 
donated all of the outpatient physical therapy; Doug Hawthorne, CEO of 
Texas Health Resources; Jim Boswell and Leslie Baker from Presbyterian 
Hospital of Plano; the nursing and physical therapy staff at the Zale 
Lipshy Center; Linda Caram of SBC Communications; The Daniel Dawn 
Smalley Foundation; AmeriSuites in Plano; Father Dimitru and Gladiola 
Paun; and everyone else at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano, Parkland 
Hospital, and Presbyterian Village North.
  Thanks for making an effort to make a difference. You have shown the 
nation and the world that America's generosity knows no boundaries, no 
barriers, no limits. We will always speak for the voiceless, stand with 
the helpless, and fight for the powerless.

                          ____________________