Honduran Teenager Receives Leg Surgery in Little Rock

For a 13-year old boy from Honduras, several thousand miles isn`t too far to travel to be able to walk straight again. Melkin Valdez spent his first night in Little Rock, Tuesday, a week and a half before the surger that will fix the leg he broke three years ago. Today, he walks with a limp and can`t stand up for very long. "He says he gets tired if he stands up for very long and of course, it`s very hard for him to run," explained German Vasquez, a member of the family that is hosting Melkin and his mother. Melkin fell from his bike. Living in the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, there was no place for him to go for help. "It`s a 3rd world country, with 3rd world medicine," explained Sandee Haslauer, head of the Honduras Mission at Christ the King Catholic Church in west Little Rock. So, his leg healed with a deformity in his left thigh. The bone protrudes and his left leg is shorter than the other. Now, Haslauer says correcting it will take plenty of time and effort. "Because of the cost and scope of his treatment, Melkin has grown over the years and his femur hasn`t. So, Melkin`s going to need extensive rehab," she said. American Airlines donated his flight to the U.S and Arkansas Children`s Hospital is donating the surgery, with the help of Dr. Richard McCarthy. "They are extremely happy and they have prayed a lot. Before they left Honduras, they were praying again," said Oneda Fuentes, Melkin`s mother, as Vasquez interpreted. Now, that they`re in the US, Melkin`s family knows their prayers have been answered. Melkin`s leg surgery is Thursday, February 3rd. Afterwards, he and his mother will have to stay in the country with their host family until around May. That`s because, Melkin will need weekly therapy and rehabilitation to lenghthen his leg bone.