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News
June 13, 2008 While a group from BYU and KSL were visiting the community of Huilloc, they saw an 11 year old boy, José,
limping. They found out that he had an infection in his leg. It was badly infected and had the first signs of gangrene. Each
of the students of BYU gave some money to the school teacher and asked him to take Jose to a hospital in Urubamba, some three
hours from the community. José was examined in Urubamba and then sent to Cusco for further treatment. According to
the doctor, fortunately the infection didn't reached the bone marrow. José will have to have the bone
scraped, have an IV with antibiotic for at least 12 days, and then initiate therapy before he can go back to school.
The doctor also reported that José had chronic malnutrition and will need to consume Ensure supplements. The remaining
costs of the hospital visits, ambulance, and medications are being covered by Lima Tours along with Carlos Fida and PanAmerican
Travel. June 18, 2008 Dr. Valdivia from the CIMA Clinic has informed us that they have done the treatment
process planned for José but found the situation more serious than previously indicated by the x-rays taken. There
is more bony tissue taken by the infection as the pussy discharge has penetrated the bone in areas not visible by x-rays.
During the treatment they took a sample to culture and do a biopsy. According to the results they will plan an additional
treatment for José. They will have the results of the biopsy in three days and then we will have a better picture of
the situation.
June 19, 2008 On Tuesday, Dr. Valdivia operated on
José’s tibia. Unfortunately, the extent of the damage to the bone is quite broad as it covers almost all of the
diaphysis of the bone, with fistulas full of pus in various parts of the skin. Because of that, the wound was left open to
realize various treatments to eliminate all of the pus. Now it is covered with two antibiotics while awaiting the results
of the biopsy. The next steps depend on the evolution
of the wound and the response to the treatment. José will be in the hospital at least three or four months. Osteomyelitis
is a difficult infection to treat and in some cases requires other surgeries after two or three years because the infected
spots in the bone persist and require new interventions. If the child needs muscular work done in the affected area, the hospitalization
will be prolonged. June 29, 2008 "The results of the
biopsy, culture and antibiogramme, have resulted negative, possibly because the child has been given antibiotics before being
hospitalized and undergoing surgery and the sample wasn’t processed with removal of the antibiotics. In any case, because
of the characteristics of the pussy secretion the most common germ is the Staphylococcus Aureus and as such is being treated
with antibiotics… According to the child’s progress, he should be in conditions to be discharged from the hospital
temporarily Monday June 30, with a cast and outpatient oral antibiotic treatment. Subsequently, he will require weekly evaluations…
As you are already aware, the child has a degree of moderate malnutrition and unfortunately this deficiency affects the body’s
defensive response."
July 1, 2008 This weekend 4 managers from Lima
Tours went to visit Jose Echone and take him a few gifts. Appearing in the photo are: Patricia Barrera, Marcela Haltenhof,
Ana Lucía Gutiérrez and Suzanne Torres. July 2,
2008 José was scheduled to leave the hospital on Monday, but he stayed longer to receive a new surgical
treatment and has received his cast today. Tommorrow he will be released from the hospital with his treatments as
well as the supplements of Calcium and Ensure. José misses his family and wants to be home with them. The doctor
believes his return home will be helpful to the healing process. In the next week he will make another trip to
Cusco for his check up. July 10, 2008 José has been with
his dad and uncles who are taking good care of him. For the moment José is walking with his leg in the cast. Today
he was given a bag of Ensure and vitamins to continue with his recuperation and his checkup is tomorrow in the San Juan de
Dios clinic. July 26, 2008 The child was taken to Cusco on Monday, July 7 and stayed
at his aunt Flora Sinchi's house. Tuesday he was taken to the CIMA clinic and evaluated by Dr. Nicanor Mellado, a traumatologist
doctor who solicited his lab orders and x-rays, which helped him get an appointment at the San Juan de Dios clinic. The appointment was
July 10, where José was attended by Dr. Caparó, traumatologist on the staff at the clinic. The BYU
Idaho group donated supplies to the community of Huilloc and it was delivered to the director of the school and the president
of the association of fathers of the families. They met José and took him his vitamins, as well as 50 cans of
Ensure they brought with them.
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