A
matter of life, A matter of legs
One
sunny morning in Anlong Veng five young boys herd their uncle cows onto
the fields, where as late as 1997 bloody battles took place. The Cambodian
New Year, the new century and new millennium, is only two weeks away,
and preparations in the little village are in high gear.
Then, suddenly, a
blast shatters the peace and quiet of the day, and the New Year takes
on a different meaning for 12 year old Oeuy Sok. Hong, the youngest one,
took a step that proved to be the last one of his life. Buried in the
lush grassland a landmine lay in wait for him. Three kids lie dying in
the grass, and two are still alive, but barely so. Sok's legs are torn
to pieces, both of them, and the rest of his body bleeds from numerous
shrapnel wounds.
That happened on
March 29, 2000. A 6-hour ride on a rented motorbike over the roughest
of dirt-roads got him to Angkor Hospital For Children, in deep shock.
The executive director, Jon Morgan, donated his own blood and saved Sok's
life. Despite their physicians' heroic efforts the chances of saving his
legs seemed dismal.
Now, six months later,
13 year old Sok's future looks brighter than ever. His legs restored,
he has gained 25 lbs, throws a football with confidence, and feels comfortable
surrounded by a caring community of both Cambodians and local people.
Even though he never had a day of school in his home country, he now starts
to speak English. A few more weeks and he will be reunited with his family,
carrying with him the spirit of Aloha.
All this would never
have happened without the unselfish efforts of many concerned individuals
and institutions. Let me just mention Shriners Hospital for Children,
Dr. Benjamin Chu, who volunteered his plastic surgical skills, Senator
Daniel Inouye and Councilman Henry Felix, who helped cut the red tape,
China Airlines and Bangkok Air transporting him for free, and many others.
Here you see just
one example where Medicorps could make a difference. But, please, remember,
to make all this happen, for other innocent victims like him, we do need
your continued support!
Trip of a Lifetime
By Craig Gima 2/11/2007
Click to enlarge
To get into her wooden hut built on stilts in this rural village, Sythan Leam puts her crutch aside and scampers up the ladder-like steps using her arms, her good leg and the stump at the knee where her left foot is fused to her thigh.
When she was an infant, an oil lamp tipped onto her blanket, causing a fire that severely burned her leg.
There are no doctors where she lives, so the wound never healed properly and Leam, now 14, has never been able to fully extend her leg to walk normally.
Other children, even her own brothers and sisters, call her "haiquai," or clubfoot.
As early as this week, Leam is expected to travel more than 6,300 miles from her village in Kampong Thom Province in Cambodia to Shriner's Hospital for Children in Honolulu, where doctors will see if they can help her walk for the first time in her young life.
Medicorps, a Hawaii-based charity, is trying to raise about $8,000 to $10,000 to cover the cost of flying Leam to Hawaii and some other expenses. Shriner's will treat her for free if she can get to Honolulu.
So far, about $5,500 has been raised, said Dr. Gunther Hintz, president and founder of Medicorps. But, if necessary, Hintz said, he will dip into his own pocket to cover the rest of the cost.
Because Leam's leg hasn't developed properly, the surgery will be complex, and part of her leg might have to be amputated, Hintz said.
But even a prosthetic leg, he said, will give Leam a chance at a better life.
Hintz is in Cambodia now arranging for Leam's passport and visa.
In November, the Star-Bulletin traveled with Medicorps workers to Leam's village about 80 miles northwest of Phnom Penh.
There are more cattle than people on the bumpy dirt road leading to Anlong Thor.
A school is nearby, but Leam hasn't attended classes since the second grade. In many poor farming families, education is a luxury.
Instead of school, Leam helps raise her younger brother and three sisters, and does chores like cooking rice.
There's no electricity and they have to walk to get water from a village well.
Medical care is not an option for a poor rural family like Leam's, said Laurent Lek Ramonith, the country director for Medicorps.
That's why Leam hadn't seen a doctor until just two years ago.
By chance, an aid worker for a group that helps land-mine victims saw Sythan hopping along a road and was able to get her to the Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, about 130 miles away, where her case came to the attention of Hintz.
It was the first time she had been out of her village.
Coming to Hawaii will be an even greater culture shock.
Hintz said coming to Hono-lulu will change Leam. Shriner's has a program to teach children how to speak, read and write English, and she'll live with a local Cambodian family when she's an outpatient.
Leam said she would like to be a teacher one day, a prospect that seems unlikely if she stays in her village with her handicap.
Asked if she will miss her parents and four brothers and sisters, Leam puts on a brave face. She doesn't really know where Hawaii is or what to expect.
"She wants to walk normally," her mother, Teartear, said.
And all Leam knows about the trip that could change her life is that there's a chance to fix her leg.
