Head of the Class: How Surgery at CURE Changed John’s Future

When John was growing up in school, his classmates liked to play a game we’ll call “kick the cane.” Only, this game wasn’t any fun for John—because it was his cane they were kicking, causing him to fall.

John grew up in a poor family of 13 kids in rural Kenya, where his dad, Menieng, herded cows for a living. When John was two years old, Menieng began noticing that his son’s legs did not look quite the way they should. Then one day he saw that John’s legs had started to bend backward at the knees.

Alarmed, Menieng took John to a local hospital, where he learned treatment was far more than their family could afford. Dejected, he decided to leave his son’s healing up to God.

An Answered Prayer

As John grew, his legs only worsened. In addition to the laughs and taunts he experienced from his peers, walking became a serious struggle. “Life was just difficult,” he says. “If I walked far, my legs would hurt.”

As John watched the trees near his home sway in the breeze, he dreamed of climbing them and picking fruit for his family to eat. He thought about what school would be like without being teased by his classmates. But his legs made those dreams impossible.

Then, when John was 14, God provided the opportunity for healing that he and his family had prayed for when a CURE Kenya mobile clinic came to their community. CURE’s doctors examined John and shared some amazing news—his condition was correctable with surgery provided at no cost to his family, thanks to the generous support of CURE’s donors!

John and his family were overjoyed to learn that John’s condition wasn’t a lifelong sentence. As they waited for the call from CURE Kenya that it was John’s turn for surgery, he would constantly ask, “Have they called? Have the dates been set yet?”

Finally, the call came, and John and Menieng made the long journey to CURE Kenya for John’s life-changing surgery.

A New Chance at Life

CURE Kenya’s compassionate staff welcomed the father and son warmly. “I felt good because I knew by the time I was going to leave the hospital, I would be healed,” John says.

The day after John arrived at the hospital, CURE’s highly skilled doctors surgically corrected both legs at the same time and put them in casts so they could heal properly. Before going into the operating room, John expressed to the staff his desire to grow up and become a doctor so he could help kids like him!

After a few days of recovering in the ward, he went home to heal. A month later, he returned to have his casts removed. His legs were straight! The medical team sent him home again—this time with crutches to help him walk and a physical therapy regimen to ensure his muscles strengthened, supporting the new position of his legs.

Post-surgical physical therapy like John’s is integral to CURE’s comprehensive care for all patients. It helps improve strength and mobility, giving them the best chance to live productive, independent lives.

Unfortunately, when John returned for a check-up at a mobile clinic about six months post-surgery, he was once again walking with his cane. He had not been doing enough physical therapy exercises, and his legs had begun bending backward again.

To prevent his condition from worsening, CURE’s doctors performed more surgery—but one leg at a time to give him more time to recover and strengthen his newly straightened legs. Following surgery, John was diligent about his physical therapy, and the hard work paid off.

Today, John walks with no pain and can even run! He’s now an active student at school and leads his class academically. Thanks to surgery at CURE Kenya, he’s on his way to fulfilling his dreams of becoming a doctor.

We thank our generous friends and partners who make life-changing stories like John’s possible every day in our hospitals. You are bringing hope to young lives!