A four-year-old boy who underwent a marathon 11-hour operation to repair his face, which was ravaged by dogs in his native Kenya, was set to leave Houston on Tuesday and return to Oklahoma City.
His guardians, Larry and Frances Jones, said Daniel has been a blessing in their lives. They learned about him through the Christian relief organisation Feed the Children, which they founded in 1979.
”I think he can be a role model for other children,” said Frances Jones. ”You don’t have to be totally beautiful on the outside. You don’t have to be perfect.”
The disfigured boy was taken to a Nairobi orphanage run by Feed the Children when he was eight months old. He had been attacked by dogs after being abandoned at birth on a rubbish heap in Nairobi.
The dog attack left Daniel with no left ear. He also had significant portions of his lips and left cheek missing. His left eye and the left sides of his nose and mouth also sagged.
During Daniel’s surgery on June 1, doctors removed scar tissue from his left cheek, lip and eyelid and replaced it with skin from his back. The scar tissue had prevented his left jawbone from growing properly.
The tissue replacement allowed doctors to insert pins in the jawbone that will slowly stretch it to match the right side over the next two to three months.
Plastic surgeons Sean Boutros and Michael Miller as well as the Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital donated their services for Daniel’s first surgery.
Daniel is to return to Houston in the autumn to remove the pins in his jaw. Doctors also plan to do more repair work on his lips. His surgeries will take 10 to 12 years to complete. ‒ Sapa-AP