My Encounter With Robert Papong

Last Sunday, October 26, 2008, our Filipino American group here in Birmingham held a Charity Potluck Lunch at the gym of Our Lady of Lourdes Church for the purpose of raising funds for Robert Papong.

Who is Robert Papong? Chances are you don’t know him for he is just an ordinary 10-year old kid from a small island in Southern Leyte, Philippines. But what he had gone through is out of ordinary. A few years back their house got burned. Everybody escaped the fire, some with minor injuries but Robert sustained a third degree burn in the right side of his body. As a result of that incident, the skin of Robert’s right side and upper arm melted and joined together up to the elbow. His lower right leg was also joined to his upper leg  thus causing him to be in a perpetual squatting position. Robert accepted his fate and maintained a positive disposition in life despite his pitiful condition. He remained playful and friendly with other kids. The only difference is that he walked like a duck and jumped like a frog.

 One day, a Filipina nurse, by the name of Ida Pate, who is working here in Alabama went home to the Philippines for a visit. There she saw Robert playing with the other kids on the street. She pitied the boy and realized that the boy needed medical attention which he might not be able to get in the Philippines. Ida negotiated with the parents and the Department of Social Services and she succeeded in getting the boy’s necessary travel documents and brought him here.

 A certain Birmingham surgeon by the name of Michael Beckenstein, MD, FACS, got wind of the boy’s story and offered to perform the necessary medical procedures for free to restore the boy’s physique back to normal. A series of operations were done a few months ago.

 When I arrived at the potluck last Sunday, I thought that I could still see Robert in his squatting posture as what we heard about him. When I ask somebody where Robert is, he pointed me to a scrawny boy playing basketball, limping a little but no longer walking like a duck nor jumping like a frog. He already look like any other normal boy although if you go closer, the scarce are still visible and I learned that some skin grafting procedures is still to be done.

Our group’s fund raising last Sunday was able to garner a total amount of $1,300.00 which will go into Robert’s educational fund. Robert misses his family very much and he wished that his twin brother can visit him. Hopefully some good Samaritans will shoulder the travel expenses of his brother or even his parents to be able to come here for a reunion.