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| Vol. 21, No. 23 |
| December 15, 1999 |
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Shriners Hospital Patient Receives "Ultimate" Holiday Gift by RONDA WENDLER Shriners Hospital for Children
San Juan Perez has been a spina bifida patient at Shriners Hospital since the age of 4. Spina bifida is a disabling birth defect in which the spinal cord protrudes through an opening in the backbone. A host of neurological problems may result, depending on the severity of each patient's condition. Time and time again, doctors at the hospital treated San Juan for spina bifida-related infections that could have been avoided with better living conditions. Until now, San Juan has lived with his parents in a one-room house in northern Mexico with no indoor plumbing. Though unhealthy for anyone, such living conditions can become life-threatening for someone with spina bifida. Moreover, the small house afforded no room for San Juan to maneuver his wheelchair. He spent most days lying in bed, which caused him to develop pressure sores. Spina bifida patients are prone to pressure sores because lack of feeling in their lower extremities prevents them from shifting positions. Heat and humidity caused by a house with no air conditioning, combined with lack of movement, provided the recipe for pressure sores that plagued San Juan throughout his young life. Determined to break this downward cycle, Linda Jennings, director of family services at Shriners Hospital, contacted Habitat for Humanity International to ask if the organization would build the family a new house. An affirmative answer set the plan in motion, and San Juan and his mother Hilda and father Vincente are now enjoying a new two-bedroom house, complete with a handicapped-accessible bathroom, a wheelchair ramp, and wider doorways and rooms large enough to maneuver a wheelchair. San Juan first learned of his new house when his mother was flown to Miami to appear on a television show called "Super Sabado," ("Super Saturday" in English). Shown in many Spanish-language television markets throughout Mexico and Central and South America, "Super Saturday" is a type of variety show that features guests who are surprised on the air with "super" good news. Hilda, who had never flown before, wondered what would happen on the show. During the live broadcast, she got an answer. "I couldn't believe it - this is by far the best present San Juan has ever received," she said. In designing the blueprints for San Juan's new house, Habitat for Humanity faced a special challenge. For example, the doorways had to be wider to allow a wheelchair to fit through, the counters had to be lower, etc. Delbert Reed, director of engineering at Shriners Hospital, helped Habitat for Humanity to adapt their blueprints so the house would be better equipped for San Juan. The Houston-area Rotary Club also donated funds towards San Juan's new home. "It was a community effort to make San Juan's life better," Linda Jennings explains. As a patient with spina bifida, San Juan still has many challenges to overcome. However, his new house is a first step toward better health and an improved quality of life.
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