Fourteen-year-old Boy Stands Up with Comfort’s Help
August 10, 2007

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ACAJUTLA, El Salvador (July 31, 2007) – A young boy and his mother pose for a photo in the intensive care unit aboard hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), while he recovers after surgery on his legs. The Comfort is on a four-month humanitarian deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean providing medical treatment to patients in a dozen countries. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly E. Barnes (RELEASED)

ACAJUTLA, El Salvador -- Surgery to enhance a 14-year-old boy’s ability to stand was performed aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) on July 30.

Angel Gomez is wheelchair-bound, but after being operated on by Lieutenant Commander Erik Shirley, an orthopedic surgeon with the USNS Comfort, he will be able to stand with greater ease and may potentially learn to walk.

“The surgery is a positive thing,” said Zoila Gomez, Angel’s mother. “I have faith God will help him to walk.”

The surgery will help Angel’s ability to stand and has positioned his legs in a way that will make it easier to do so than before the surgery, said Shirley. It is important to his overall health that he can stand because doing so promotes and increases bone density.

However, Shirley explained that most people who do not walk by the age of 10 do not gain the ability to walk.

“His mother understands what we were doing in the surgery and why,” said Shirley.

Angel’s legs were crossed and his knees had a condition called flexion contractures, where the limb bends at the joint and cannot be fully extended due to muscle tension.

“In the operation we released the tight muscles between the joints,” Shirley said.

After Angel’s surgery, he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit with bandages wrapped around his legs and a brace between his knees to prevent his legs from crossing.

Zoila sat by her son through the night, praying over him and holding his hand while he slept.

“I’m happy for having the Comfort here and for what you’ve all done,” she said. “I’m very happy for the help we’ve received.”

The USNS Comfort is on a four-month humanitarian deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean providing medical care to patients in a dozen countries.

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly E. Barnes
USNS Comfort Public Affairs