Thanks to the technology at our fingertips, we are able to receive real-time updates from patients about their recovery post-surgery. Saray T. was one of the patients selected for surgery during our April medical mission in Havana, Cuba. She sent us this message of gratitude, along with a video of her walking one month after her surgery. She writes:
“I want to tell my story, of how I was placed on the screening list for hip replacement at Hospital Fructuoso and was blessed with surgery by Operation Walk Los Angeles.
I suffered from Perthes’ Syndrome since I was 4 years old. Perthes’ disease is an uncommon condition affecting children between the ages of three and eleven. Blood supply to the head of the thigh bone is disrupted which causes the bone to deteriorate. This can cause pain, limping and limited movement. Walking has been a struggle for me most of my life. I didn’t have intense pain but my life was very limited. My restricted mobility made it difficult to do housework, limiting me to just cooking and other short tasks. If I went for a walk or spent a lot of time working at the hairdresser’s, the joint often felt inflamed and the pain would linger long after I rested.
Fourteen years ago after a pregnancy loss, my right hip collapsed and flattened out the neck of my femur. Since then, I was waiting for surgery at Frank País Orthopedic Hospital, but my doctor recommended postponing it due to the poor durability of the prostheses that was available.
Last year my husband had an accident and that’s how I met Dr. Amelia. I told her about my condition and she told me about your program. Thanks to God, to all of you and the Fructuoso team, I was selected as a pre-candidate to be placed on the screening list. If and when I rejoin my profession as a hair stylist, I have a modest living room at home that I can work from.
Thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to be in the hands of such talented and loving professionals and to all those who donate so that many like me can have a better quality of life.”
-Saray T.