HEARTBREAK-HOPEFUL

Every week the VNOs (Villa de los Niños) come to the clinic.  Some are sullen teens, some are curious but friendly and all live on the school campus without family nearby.  They come from rural parts of Guatemala where their opportunities are few.  They are brave to attend a regimented boys school where there is little privacy and a strong emphasis on education.  They think I am funny since I try to speak their language and that I am a crazy American woman trying to engage them in conversation.  However they are always polite and respectful-reserved as they say here.

Today sixteen year old Jose B. also came. He was almost six feet tall, had dark penetrating eyes and was an imposing figure against the younger boys.  He wasn't scheduled but I took one look at him and knew that Gary would want to see him.  After examination and careful conversation José told us that he had an accident when he was eight years old and injured his jaw.  Although his face is now misshapen he can still eat and brush his teeth but it is challenging because his jaw has little mobility.

After the panoramic x-ray Gary had good news.  His right jaw joint had degenerated but (here's the good news) the joint hadn't fused together so joint movement was still possible, although limited.  It would also be possible to surgically reconstruct the joint if the proper resources could be found.  After the explanation and giving him a copy of the x-ray José spontaneously hugged Gary and me.  By that time I had tears in my eyes.  He smiled, understanding, perhaps for the first time, why he couldn't open his mouth all the way.  We were able to meet with the school nurse to try and expedite his case through resources the school might have.

Note: Jose in not in the photo for privacy reasons.  The panoramic x-ray is not his.  This is the second encounter with a broken jaw that we have personally seen that has been untreated.  We are grateful that we could offer some hope.