Impact: Elias's Story

The discomfort started slowly. Some days he noticed some swelling in his foot, and other days it didn’t seem to bother him, but as the weeks passed, 14-year-old Elias realized that something was dreadfully wrong.

The swelling under the skin was irregular, and the bulges that began growing were grey and blue in color. Elias’s mother could no longer pass off his concern with a glib statement about how it will be better soon, but, in the meantime, don’t run around unnecessarily.

Isabelle would dismiss the topic of the painful foot whenever the subject came up. After all, what would she do about it? With a three-year-old special needs baby, living alone, and being raised in abject poverty, each day was a challenge. Having something for the children to eat at the end of the day was the entire burden she could bear. The foot would get better.

Things like this always ended up “Taking care of themselves.”

Within a few months, it was evident that this problem would not go away, so Isabelle saved a portion of the food money for several days and walked the 30 minutes with her limping son and totally dependent daughter. In her heart, she knew the news would not be good. The reality is that all the money she had would cover only the cost of the exam, and no matter what the doctor told her to do, she wouldn’t be able to afford it.

It seemed odd….to pray to a God that you have never seen and ask for help about a foot problem that the doctors themselves didn’t understand. “Perhaps this is an infection,” they said. So, Esabella left the exam room with a prescription for antibiotics that she couldn’t afford to fill. “Pray, Elias, pray, this is all we can do.”

And so, the praying began. “What is it I am praying for?” asked Elias, one day, “Is God going to send money for medicine or fix my foot?”

“Good question”, said Isabella, “ I have never asked him for anything before, so we will just ask for help.”

By now, the foot was misshapen and horrible to look at: some of the bumps had shed their skin, and portions were noticeably infected. It had been impossible to wear shoes for many weeks and Elias didn’t want to go outside anyway. “All the kids just look at my foot and ask questions that I can’t answer. Besides, it hurts too much to walk. I would rather stay in the house,” he said.

Elias's Foot

“What was this? “Shhhh, let me listen. Yes, yes, the loudspeaker said that the gringos were bringing doctors for surgeries… we need to go and sign up to be seen. Maybe this is God’s answer, “ said Isabella excitedly. And so, the miracle began… or was that really the beginning?

Did this miracle start when the doctors in the US decided to come to Peru or when they called to see if People of Peru Project could host them for their medical work? Maybe this miracle started when the medical director chose Elias’s community out of thousands, to make an announcement for free medical care, and then ultimately, petitioned the government for some special help in this special situation.

The Minister of Health said that they would pay for the flights to Lima and the surgery IF People of Peru Project could cover the cost of food, housing and transportation for Elias and a representative from our organization. Maybe that was the miracle, or maybe the miracle is starting now with a Facebook group from the USA."

Elias's Story--then and now--is just one of many that form the mission of the Hospital that we are building right now. Donate today, and your donation will be matched up to $75,000.

Now--healed and healthy.