The Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation

From the time we were kids we’ve heard that we have duties and obligations to honor and fulfill. Over the course of a lifetime, those duties and obligations change for most of us and become more complex and difficult to embrace. Contrary to what some people think, the words duty and obligation are not synonymous. Rather, a duty is an internally compelling motive to act while an obligation is an externally compelling motive to act. For example, we know it’s our duty to care for our families, but we see working late to meet a deadline as an obligation. These are simple comparisons, but having made the point, I’d like to talk about the deeper, more persuasive aspects of our duties and obligations that affect us as a society, influencing our behavior towards others as we try to make this a better world. In this sense we have both duties and obligations and President Obama brought the idea home beautifully in his election night speech when he said:

“…We cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together. We may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction—towards a better future…”.

Everyone sees what needs to be done. If you pay attention to the news media you’ll hear resounding cries for help from people throughout the world. It’s human nature to be aware of a sense of obligation to these people but sadly our feelings of powerlessness get in the way of action. You can understand, then, why The Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation feels deeply privileged when we can pay for needed medical care in the devastating, life-threatening situations that come to our attention. We are able to act on our duty and our moral obligation as we involve ourselves in unusually difficult cases and work toward happy conclusions. We can do this because of your generous financial support.

Sometimes we’re asked why we help so many children from war-torn places in the world. And the answer is because we owe them something. These youngsters are the hope of tomorrow, but some are literally left on the battlefield—their physical wounds deep and life-threatening; their spiritual wounds, though not bleeding, are severe enough to cause death. They have witnessed their parents and siblings die, they have been kept in substandard facilities without medical help, and they are alone. We are proud to show them a new landscape, hoping to save their lives and to inspire them that there is good in this world.

Closer to home we face the duty of fighting for the lives of people who have ineffective insurance. We feel obliged to act as advocate, pushing unresponsive insurance companies to realize they cannot place a value on a human life. We hope someday to be able to influence insurers to pay for so-called “experimental” procedures when lives might be saved by them, and we long for the day when health care reforms level the playing field among insurance carriers to guarantee fair coverage for all.

I hope you will read this issue carefully and be prompted to continue supporting our efforts.  Working together, we will be in a better position to abide by our duties and satisfy our obligations to so many.

GOD BLESS YOU.

A. Raymond Tye
President

In his latest book, Free Money, author Kevin Trudeau gives faulty information about this Foundation’s mission, implying that we will pay for medical bills and prescription costs in any and all health-related situations.

PLEASE BE AWARE that The Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation is dedicated to providing medical and surgical care to individuals who have life-threatening medical problems, and who apply to us for help prior to receiving life-saving care. We do not pay for an individual’s past medical bills. We are sorry for the hundreds of people who have sought our help because of the inaccurate information given by Kevin Trudeau.

Recently I was discussing the idea of success with some friends. It was amazing to me that this seemingly simple concept could have so many interpretations and I came away asking myself, “what is success and how do we recognize it when it appears?” In a society like ours many people may relate personal success to the kind of car they drive or where they live and how big their house is; or they might look to the bottom line of their business for the answer. But the main obstacle for people who think this way is that they misunderstand success. Having said that, I conclude that while the picture of success might be different for each of us; the principles of success will be the same for all.

So, can everyone succeed? Absolutely! Because success is a journey, not a destination. And as I see it the main defining quality of success is perseverance; never giving up, trying one more time, hanging on after others have let go, and following through. In other words watch success develop in small portions day by day and take pleasure in the delights your actions will procure.

While pondering my own definition of success as it relates to our work at The Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation, I had the profound revelation that sometimes what we see as success might appear to some as failure. We feel great joy when the cases we undertake have a good (or even miraculous) outcome and everyone rejoices with us. Sometimes an outcome may be bad; resulting in death but we can still call it a success. As an example you will read in this issue the story of Peter Oyuga; his death caused deep sadness in all of us but looking beyond our grief we can see that Peter’s life had a purpose and he was given a chance he would not have had without our help; he passed away in dignity amidst caring doctors, nurses and friends. He was returned to his family for burial without the disfiguring tumors on his face; giving his parents a chance to see the beauty of their child one last time.

Peter’s case reminds me of the words of Theodore Roosevelt: “In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing”.

As we review all of the cases we worked with this year, we are humbled and thankful for our generous and caring donors, the many doctors, hospital administrators and medical personnel, government officials and in many cases the media who help us to persevere, to keep trying and eventually to succeed.

GOD BLESS YOU.

A. Raymond Tye
President

At the turn of the last century, Sir John Lubbock wrote: “To do something, however small, to make others happier and better, is the highest and most elevating way to inspire the human spirit”. Everyone desires happiness, and the world needs more of it; perhaps it should be a worldwide cause like hunger or global warming. But what if the simple concept of giving could bring about all the happiness we need and enough to share with everyone?

It is a strong belief of my own that giving should really be called “receiving” because the elemental act of giving returns many pleasant rewards to the giver. In fact, it might be said that there is not a more self-serving act than a liberal manifestation of generosity. Why? Because an act of generosity helps to make the world a better place, and this alone is a gratifying notion. Seeing the happiness generosity creates in the recipients is another positive reinforcement – a big return for a small investment. And it is true that no good deed goes un-rewarded, even when the reward is intangible. So we can conclude that giving is a targeted, reliable formula that pays mammoth dividends.
(more…)