"Courage is the first of human qualities, because it is the quality that guarantees all the others." 

~Winston Churchill

Remember Andebet? This young man traveled for days by foot, donkey, and bus to reach us in Addis Ababa. This is the boy with 13 fingers, 12 toe bones (metatarsals), and knees that extend out and backwards like kickstands. His kneecaps are lateral - on the sides of his legs. He walked with his knees bent at a 45 degree angle, pointed both back and out. I flew Andebet to Dallas, Texas for surgery. He had multiple tests, and was evaluated by teams of doctors. Eventually he was given a choice - bilateral amputation at the knees, or many months of grueling surgeries and rehabilitation to reshape his legs - bones, tendons, and ligaments, and learn to walk again. Andebet did not hesitate: "I want to walk on my own legs," he replied. His guardians concurred. His surgeons accepted his decision, and today he underwent a 4 hour surgery to start reshaping his left leg. They started work on his left tibia, the bigger bone below the knee. The goal is to change the direction of his feet, which also go out at 45 degree angles. He will start rehabilitation, with hours of physical therapy a day, later this week. Andebet's next surgery will be a similar surgery on his right tibia. Andebet chose this difficult and painful course of treatment to transform his life. He has our greatest admiration. Please keep him in your prayers. 

And on day 2, Andebet started physical therapy. 

We learned that during the time that Andebet was in surgery, Texas Governor Abbott banned elective surgery, in order to preserve hospital beds for COVID patients. If he had not had surgery on Thursday, he might have to wait for months.