Tibetan boy has lifesaving spine surgery

All Together Now International

Tibetan boy has lifesaving spine surgery

Sunday, January 15, 2006

A broken down bus in Tibet, gave a stranded traveler a chance to meet a charming, energetic young boy. Only the traveler was wise enough to know that the severe deformity of the child's back would take his life if he didn't intervene. The man knew about a group called "All Together Now International," and how their generosity sustains life for many with such profound problems and no access to life-saving health care.
And so it was that 11 year-old Jigme Yong-Song came to Denver, Colorado, five months ago, not speaking a word of English. Today, visitors are hard pressed to keep him quiet!

"He has a life-threatening curve in his back that's progressing rapidly, and for a 10 or 11 year old kid, he's in pretty bad shape now, " says spine surgeon, Dr. John Odom. Jigme's 'American mom' and sponsor, Jennifer Cleary explains, "A year from now his spine would be crushing his heart and lungs so much that his breathing would start to decrease over the next couple of years. He wouldn't live much longer than three years."

Even today as he faces a ten hour surgery, he is bright, chipper and undaunted by the immensity of what awaits. He seems to know that second chances come in big packages, and he's ready to meet the day. "I'm going to go to surgery and fix my back!", he boasts. He flies solo, his impoverished parents unable to travel from Tibet to be with their son.

Jigme helps the lab technician count down almost every second of his bleeding time test, a necessity to verify that his little body can clot sufficiently to endure the day-long surgery. His face beams as he jokes with photographers and reporters on this big day, his bent form disguised by several blankets keeping him warm. Around his neck he wears a bag of special herbs, "This is Tibet medicine," he says as he yawns and rubs his face; "My mom gave it to me."

He also wears a one-inch gold box with a picture of a religious leader. Although his parents can't be with him, Monks throughout Tibet and Scotland will be chanting for him all day!

Donating their time, a surgical team headed by Dr. John Odom and Dr. Larry Ehrichs, will tediously dissect tissues through a large incision running the length of Jigme's front/side. The lung, diaphragm, liver and other tissues will be gently pushed aside exposing the entire spinal column. Several disks will be pried loose, and then replaced with bits of rib harvested from the boy. He'll then be turned over on his stomach and large metal rods will be installed to straighten his spine. Doctors hope to get as much as 50% correction---that's the most they can possibly hope for with this severe of a deformity, present since birth. Doctors originally hoped to do his surgery at one sitting, but bleeding problems today forced them to stop the procedure. They hope to complete the surgery by putting in the metal rods next week.

Spinal scoliosis as severe as Jigme's is rare in the U.S. now, thanks to vigorous screening programs in elementary schools and in pediatricians' offices. Spine problems are found early on, so treatment doesn't have to be this drastic and the results can be even better than Jigme's.

Jigme will spend the next year in Colorado, recovering from the surgery. Before he goes back to Tibet, the metal rods will have to be removed, as surgeons there do not have access to necessary instrumentation.

The Medical Center of Aurora hopes technology can bring the parents a glimpse of their son too. The hospital is posting a picture of Jigme on the internet in the hopes that his loved ones can travel to the nearest computer (over two hours away) to see how he is doing. Jigme says when he returns home, he'll set about preparing to become an English teacher.

Two years ago, Nima Dongzhou was also sponsored for surgery by "All Together Now International." He returned to his homeland last summer and is training to become a doctor and healer for his village.

For more information, go to the "All Together Now Internationally" website.

[ P.O. Box 7111 Boulder, CO, USA 80306 ] [ Phone: 720.565.8777 ] [ E-Mail: info@alltogether.org ]