Aldo lives near Tegucigalpa, about 5 hours from our hospital. He lives with his three brothers and five hundred other children in an orphanage called Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (Our Little Brothers and Sisters). Aldo has a congenital disease called Neurofibromatosis, as well as limb length discrepancy (his left leg is shorter than his right leg), a dislocated hip, and scoliosis. Needless to say, he’s had a difficult journey and although it's looking brighter ahead, it's a long road. He had his first operation approximately one year ago, in which the surgeons put an external fixator on his leg, which over time lengthens his shorter leg. To make a long story short, the fixator did not work as it was intended to, and Aldo now has more complex problems.
He came to the hospital yesterday with Carol, a physical therapist (originally from Austria) who works at his orphanage, to see what the next step in his treatment will be.
We are blessed to have Dr. Tim Mead here this week with his wife Jana, before they move to the Middle East where Dr. Mead will be the new medical director at CURE in the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Mead was the medical director at CURE Kenya from 1998-2011. He and Dr. Bridgeman discussed what would be the best option for Aldo, and decided that it will be to remove the fixator and then place a rod in his left femur bone, because it has become so thin that it will break if he stands on it without the fixator. Aldo is basically wheelchair-bound right now, although he uses a walker in physical therapy. After this next operation he will be on his way to being more mobile. As of right now he sleeps laying his chest on his lap because his hips have become very stiff from being in a seated position for so long that he cannot lay down.
The beauty in all of this, for one, is that we have Dr. Mead and Dr. Bridgeman here to make sure that he gets the best care possible, and that Dr. Bridgeman will be here to see his treatment through till the end. What's even more beautiful in this, is Aldo's shining smile through all of this suffering. He has a smile that lights up the room and an attitude that's ready to have fun. He's excited for life despite his circumstances, and we know that this can be attributed to the fact that he accepted Jesus the last time he was here one year ago, and since then his life has changed- he has hope in the midst of all of this.
When Dr. Mead was explaining on the phone to one of the directors at the orphanage what the procedure is going to be, he said, "This kid has the world's best smile, with some of the world's worst problems." This is true, and Aldo, despite his physical circumstances and being 14 years old and only in second grade, knows the secret of being content in all circumstances and keep smiling through all of it.
When asked over the phone by one of the orphanage directors how long the recovery process will be, Dr. Mead replied, "Since we are going to bathe him in prayers, he'll hopefully heal within six to eight weeks." So please join us in praying for that!
A smile is the universal language. Thanks for sharing this. I passed this link along to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon I know. Perhaps he can advise an already wonderful medical team surrounding Aldo. Whenever I am feeling down, I will turn to this link and be inspired by Aldo. He's the Man!
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