Butterfly Foundation

La mariposita—“little butterfly” in Spanish—is the pet name Westchester Medical Center orthopaedic surgeon Andrew Moulton, M.D., has for his wife Geraldine Collado. So its English equivalent came to mind in 2003, when the couple launched an international medical relief organization. Today the Butterfly Foundation performs corrective spinal surgeries on some of the most difficult cases in the Third World—often children otherwise doomed to a handicapped existence.

At a time when most young orthopedic surgeons are still getting established in their practices, Andrew W. Moulton, MD, 37, spends much of his time in the Dominican Republic. But don’t get the wrong idea – he is working just as hard down there are his colleagues in the United States.

Andrew and Geraldine Moulton began by trying to help a few kids. Three years later, their Butterfly Foundation is performing surgeries and training orthopedic surgeons around the world.

Two years ago, Kelvin Lugo was in a bad way. A severe case of scoliosis had curved the 17-year-old’s spine so much that it was pressing down on his lungs. But in his country, the Dominican Republic, there were no doctors trained to perform the complex surgery that would straighten out his back—until the Butterfly Foundation stepped in.

“We are here to help.” With those simple words, Dr. Andrew Moulton describes the attitude with which he, his wife, Geraldine Collado, and the other members of his Fundacion Mariposa (the Butter Foundation) approach their mission.

Jesus Perez, a lean 17-year-old, Alfonso Soriano look-alike with a passion to be a baseball pitcher was smiling when the sedative overcame his consciousness, as he lay on his stomach on the operating table. Two years ago while showering, he felt a bone poling out of his back, but was embarrassed to tell his mother. He knew that when he awoke in the recovery room, his mom would be smiling and his anguish over.