IRVINE : Child’s Foot Saved From Amputation

Christian Martinez was crossing a dirt road in front of her home in Sinaloa, Mexico, last year when a car rolled over and crushed her right foot, leaving her with the possibility of amputation.

The 7-year-old spent the past year inside her house, walking with a limp and feeling a throbbing pain worsen as the months passed.

Doctors in Sinaloa told her parents that Christian’s foot could not be saved and scheduled surgery, said Margarita Martinez, Christian’s mother.

Desperate and unwilling to believe that amputation was the only alternative, Martinez found Dr. Victor V. Cachia, a podiatric surgeon, who happened to be visiting the area with a group of American doctors volunteering medical services in the next town.

Cachia took one look at Christian’s crushed foot and decided to bring her to Irvine Medical Center, where, since Nov. 7, she has undergone two of three surgeries to save it.

“My biggest concern was the option presented to Christian’s family was amputation,” Cachia said. “That didn’t sit well with me. That was just something I couldn’t walk away from. It would be a shame to let her lose the limb without even trying to help save it.”

Other doctors, nurses and volunteers at Irvine Medical Center have helped Christian feel at ease here. They’ve brightened up her hospital room with stuffed animals, flowers and books, including a Spanish-English dictionary. Her mother is staying with her at the hospital during what is expected to be a monthlong stay. Her father and two younger brothers await their return at home in Mexico.

Surgical procedures such as Christian’s cost up to $50,000, but she’s being treated free thanks to the hospital and staff donating time and supplies.

Christian’s mother calls it “a miracle.”

“They took care of everything,” she said. “It’s a miracle to be here because we never would have had the money to pay for this. We’re just so thankful to see Christian keep her foot.”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Christian said in Spanish this week from her hospital bed.

The shy girl studied at home with her mother all last year while her friends walked that quarter of a mile to the school, where she used to attend first grade. Next month, she’ll be returning to that school as a second-grader and she said she can’t wait to run around on the playground again.

Christian’s last operation will be scheduled for sometime in the next two or three weeks, Cachia said. After that and about three months’ recovery, he said, she should be able to wear regular shoes without pain.