For Jaime Gutierrez, it’s quitting time. He says goodnight to his co-workers and heads home just like he’s done a thousand times before. But unlike all those past trips down familiar roads; this night will be different.
This night Jaime won’t make it home.
A truck smashes into Jaime just a quarter mile from his house. The next thing he knows he’s at the hospital, alive, but with legs that are completely shattered. The doctor informs him that although they were able to insert pins to hold everything together, they don’t have the surgical plates needed to give him the ability to walk.
In one night, Jaime’s lost not only his mobility, but his capacity to work and take care of himself. Without a miracle, he’ll become a burden to his family for the rest of his life, helpless to change his fate.
Jaime’s story could have easily ended there. There was no reason to believe that he would ever walk again. But fortunately, one year later, Jaime was given new hope – through the partnership of Esperança and friends like you.
He heard on the radio about a surgery mission organized by Esperança that would be making a visit to his local hospital. Jaime was so excited; he wasted no time in calling on his friends and family to help arrange a trip. The next day he was seen by one of our volunteer orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Sachs for an evaluation. The doctor explained that because so much time had passed, Jaime’s legs would need to be reset. He would have to undergo three different types of surgeries in order to regain his ability to walk.
I’m happy to report that Jaime’s surgeries were completely successful! Thanks to our partnership, Jaime is mobile again and looking forward to a bright new future!
The sad thing is, if Jaime had been born in the United States, there would have been no issue. He would have received the plates he needed at the time of the crash and would have been able to been able to walk again shortly after. But in places like Nicaragua, where medical supplies and expertise regularly fall short of demand, small problems like these often lead to needlessly bleak futures.
That’s why over the next three months, we are planning on sending out six surgery missions, three to Nicaragua and three to Bolivia. At 40-50 surgeries performed per visit, that’s 270 lives set free from unnecessary suffering in just the first quarter of the year!
Without your support, surgery missions like these wouldn’t exist. Hundreds of people like Jaime would be trapped – forced to live out bleak, painful futures without hope. We are incredibly blessed by the quality of healthcare that is available here in the United States. With your help, we can share that blessing with hundreds of men, women and children across
Nicaragua and Bolivia and change their lives forever. Thank you for the continued partnership that makes missions like these possible. Together we are bringing hope to the hopeless, one life at a time.
