Wow, what a day!
Little Sonnyson and I started off on a great adventure to see what can be done to help his leg at 5:00AM. We had to travel through a bad part of town to get to the Adventist Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Thankfully, we were able to get through without any trouble along the way, but arrived at the hospital 3 hours early.
Finally, 9:00 AM arrived and this is where I was totally blown away. Several of the people at the hospital knew Sonnyson already and were calling him by name. Hmmm
We had to get x-rays first and although Sonnyson was nervous I explained to him that it was just like getting a picture taken and we were able to get through that without too much stress. However, the next step was to get blood drawn and Sonnyson was so afraid all he could do was scream and scream. He fought us all the way on this, but with three of us there to hold him down a very professional nurse able to get the blood they needed for the tests. Crisis over.
After all the initial testing was done we were finally got to the main surgeon. Which is where I got to hear some of the details Sonnyson’s incredible story for the first time. You see, much to my surprise, Dr. Alexis and Sonnyson were old friends.
When Sonnyson was just two years old he was hit by a car, which caused a horrible break. Unfortunately, no one took him to the doctor right away. It was several days after the accident when the doctors first saw Sonnyson. His little broken leg was sticking out through the skin and had already turned yellow. The doctors felt he was in such bad condition they might have to take his leg to save his life. In the end, the doctor decided to try to save the leg. He was able to do so, but Sonnyson had to go back in two years for a second surgery.
The second surgery went well enough. However, the people taking care of Sonnyson at the time did not understand how to take care of the wounds and were not able to care for him properly. Sonnyson was placed into an apparatus; I can’t remember the name of it. The apparatus was there to hold his leg still and had screws in it. Unfortunately, Sonnyson took the screws out and the thing came off.
Doctor Alexis really loves Sonnyson and was so glad to see him happy and thriving. He was excited that Sonnyson was in my care and that we are going to be able to continue treating the leg. He did not think surgery was going to be needed at this time. We are going to try to do some rehab and see how things go as he grows.
Perspective….. As I sat there thinking poor Sonnyson, his leg is so mangled and of all the challenges he’ll face I looked up to see Dr. Alexis with a little smile on his face. Then he explains to me, with much optimism, how great off Sonnyson is and how well he is doing. I saw a broken ugly leg that was slowing him down. Dr. Alexis, who had all of the facts, was able to see a beautiful functioning leg that was holding a little boy up so he could walk and run and even play soccer.
Sometimes we look at other people like that, we see them ugly and broken. We don’t really know all the facts. However, God, who knows all the facts, sees a beautiful person full of hope, worthy of love.
We are home safe and thank you all for your prayers and support.
TominHaiti
