By Daniel Pye<br><a href="mailto:pyed@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dan</a>
BY DANIEL PYE
daniel.pye@tonawanda-news.com
TOWN OF TONAWANDA — Just more than two and a half years ago, Jeanneth Blanca Rojas Paucara was working as a street vendor in Bolivia, selling tea and other beverages for a modest income.
But when her clothing caught on fire one day, seriously burning her face, neck and hands, she was unable to work. She was also unable to afford the necessary medical care to properly treat her wounds.
Left to heal on its own, her neck developed a thick layer of scar tissue that made it impossible for Paucara to move her head and even complicated simple things like walking and feeding herself properly. Out of work, she had been dependent upon family for her care.
That went on for two years, until she discovered the opportunity of a lifetime.
“She saw an ad in the paper that there was a surgeon who would be able to perform this type of surgery,” Paucara said through translator Anna O’Connor.
That plastic surgeon is Dr. James Meilman, who provides free assistance for those who can’t afford it through a group called Hope for Tomorrow. Paucara contacted the group and arrangements began to get her the treatment she couldn’t afford at home.
So Paucara kissed her four children good-bye and embarked on her first plane ride, landing in Buffalo with a serious condition and hope that it could be treated.
But the surgery couldn’t take place without a hospital’s operation room and staff. That’s where Kenmore Mercy came in, said hospital CEO James Millard.
“We donated the (operating room) time, all the staff, medicine and supplies to not only do the surgery, but to take care of the patient afterwards,” Millard said.
Moved by her story, the hospital’s staff chipped in to find Paucara clothing and other items that weren’t as easy to come by in her hometown. But they helped provide the greatest gift of all on the operating table.
During the six-hour surgery, Meilman removed major portions of the burn scars that prohibited Paucara ‘s neck from moving properly. While she is still recovering after a week of recuperation at Kenmore Mercy, Paucara choked back tears as she tried to explain what the surgery means to her.
“It’s like a rebirth for her,” O’Connor translated.
Paucara was released from the hospital Friday, leaving to stay with O’Connor’s family in East Aurora for another week. She will be the third surgery recipient to stay with the O’Connors before returning home to begin life anew.
Contact reporter Daniel Pye
at 693-1000, ext. 158.
