Ugandan Orphan Flies to LAX for Surgery
Adolf Baguma is immobile due to severe burns across his body, which he suffered at age six, when his aunt threw hot banana leaves onto the back of his legs as a punishment for trying to get food.
According to the Children's Burn Foundation, the organization funding the surgery, Baguma was discovered by LA attorney Laine Wagenseller on a trip to Africa.
"[Wagenseller] visited an orphanage during a mission trip to Uganda and saw a boy crawling on all fours," said Carol Horvitz, Executive Director of the Children's Burn Foundation.
"Adolf never got attention for the burns, so the back of his legs contracted in a 90-degree angle."
Once Wagenseller was back in California, he notified the Children's Burn Foundation. The organization stepped in, paying for Baguma to fly to the United States and undergo reconstructive surgeries at West Hills Hospital in the San Fernando Valley.
Baguma's Monday landing at Los Angeles International Airport will mark the beginning of his approximate six-month journey towards recovery. According to Horvitz, the boy will meet with surgeon Peter Grossman of West Hills' Grossman Burn Foundation in the next two weeks to set a date for the surguries.
The Children's Burn Foundation helps around 250 children with severe burn damage from across the world every year.
