Blue Umbrella Official October 2018 issue | Page 15

The next day, I was blowing bubbles for
a little girl that was about to enter the surgical
room when I felt someone hugging my waist
from behind. When I turned around, Keler was
beaming up at me. He had two hours left
before his surgery. The playful boy exclaimed
that this was his penultimate surgery and that
he was really excited. He hugged me one last
time and said that he hopes he will see me
again soon, and then he ran off. That was the
last time I saw him, and I can?t wait for the
next medical brigade when I would see him
again.
During that same ?pre-medical
brigade? day, I met Alexander. I was calling
out patient names from a list another
volunteer had given me and leading them to
their station. A boy sat next to where I was
standing, and he had his head tucked in
between his legs. He never looked up, and he
kept fidgeting with his sweater?s sleeves. I
asked a volunteer if she could take my spot,
and I sat next to the boy. I greeted him and
asked if he was waiting for someone. The boy
looked up, but he did not look at me. He
looked the other way and answered that he
was waiting for his mom. I decided to keep
talking to the boy, and he eventually opened
up to me.
him, and as soon as she realized he was born
with a cleft lip, she gave him to her boyfriend,
Alexander?s dad. His father used to physically
abuse him, and he used to drink a lot. One
day, Alexander could not take it anymore, and
when he was 10 years old with only 20
lempiras in his pocket (the equivalent to
$0.42), he ran away from home.
He traveled from the small town he
lived in to Tegucigalpa. He says that he does
not remember how long it took him to get
here, but that it was more than a month. Once
in Tegucigalpa, he tried to find his mother.
since his father had told him once that she
lived here.
?I lived on the streets for two months
until I found my mom. She cried, I cried, and it
was a happy moment. She apologized for
leaving me with my father once I told her
everything, and I got to meet my two baby
brothers. I live with my new dad, mom, and
my youngest brother right now. The middle
one lives with his dad.?
Alexander told me his mom had found
out about Operation Smile a while ago and
that he was going in for his second surgery. He
does not go to school. He explained, ?I don?t
want people to stare and ask what?s wrong
with me.?
The boy?s name is Alexander. He is 13
years old, and he has two younger brothers.
His mother was 18 years old when she had
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