Helping Young Patients Recover from Life-Changing Injuries
One of these children is Sohuram, an 8-year-old boy who was inside of his home in a rural village when it came crashing down on him during the April 25th earthquake. His left foot was mostly destroyed by the rubble and his brother brought him to the field hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.
As patients continued to arrive at the Israeli IDF Medical Corp Field Hospital in Kathmandu, Project HOPE volunteer Ann Perez and the team of pediatric nurses are taking great care of the younger ones. Several of their most seriously injured patients have been at the temporary facility for over a week and are becoming like family to the team. Seeing them improve and begin their long-term recovery process from such a terrible tragedy has been exciting and brings tears to us all on a daily basis.
One of these children is Sohuram, an 8-year-old boy who was inside of his home in a rural village when it came crashing down on him during the April 25th earthquake. His left foot was mostly destroyed by the rubble and his brother brought him to the field hospital in Kathmandu for treatment. For over a week he’s been in the care doctors and nurses who have cleaned his wounds with hope that they could eventually create a clean stump for him at a normal leg’s length. His brother has been at his side this entire time because both parents are home dealing with the other damaging effects of the earthquake. Fever and discomfort have been a constant reality for the quiet young boy since his arrival.
Yesterday morning, Sohuram was scheduled for surgery and disappeared into the operating room tent while his brother stood guard outside. Hours later he was wheeled out with his left leg amputated below he knee. The rest of the day passed as his anesthesia wore off and the reality of his changed body set in. This morning, though, he decided that it was already time to get out of bed and learn how to use crutches. In no time he was clumsily maneuvering around outside, determined to figure it out.
Though he’ll live the remainder of his life with only a partial left leg, Sohuram is in no way unique. A generation of kids just like him have survived this earthquake despite terrible wounds and will have each other for support as they heal and recover.