ALEX'S STORY
The Paul Chester Children's Hope Foundation recently completed a mission to Quito, Ecuador, during which over 100 children were operated on for a number of disabilities, including club feet, cleft lip and palate, burn scars, and numerous ear throat anomalies.
The difference these operations make to the lives of the children and their families is difficult to express, but each case is a story all its own.
This mission was particularly special because of the discovery of Alex. Alex is a nine year-old little boy with two club feet who was found chained in a cave in the mountains outside of Quito. He been abandoned by his parents due to seizures as an infant, and was raised by a sympathetic but reluctant grandparent.
Because of leg abnormalities he had to drag himself along the ground to find sustenance and now suffers significant physical and emotional damage. He is unable to speak or fend for himself and will need speech therapy and physical rehabilitation.
The PCCHF team, along with a governmental women's and children's group (INNFA) spent the week with Alex and eventually performed surgery on his legs.. In spite of the suffering he has endured he lights up the room when he smiles and is an amazing, gentle little boy. Helping children like Alex to walk for the first time begins the process of healing, and is what our group intends to do whenever and wherever we can.
