Luis Eduardo and Andres

LT Cely, USNS Comfort

These adorable young boys, 12 and 10 years, arrived on our ship in Tumaco. I met them while they were in disbelief they had front seats to Juanes’s concert on the flight deck. This was the beginning of 11 days of adventure. They were our guests at the Hotel/2FWD and many times I had to ask myself: Who is having more fun… us or the kids. After learning a little bit of their rough journey thus far on earth, we were able to understand why they were having so much fun with us. How can two boys that have endured so much, seem so happy and be so loveable to strangers? That’s when I was reminded of how pure kids are, how they sense people that are genuine and open to give love unconditionally.
Luis Eduardo was burned at the age of 10 months. He never had a stable home environment, and moved from family member to family member. For a few years his mother used him to beg for money in the streets. A foundation found him and taught him to read, but this didn’t last long since it ran out of money and closed. He fell back into the streets and begged until about 6 months ago when “El Bienestar Familiar” found him and placed him in a foster home.
Andres was burned at the age of 5 while living with his brother and sister under a bridge. His mom works the streets and father is in prison and so they lost custody of the children. It has been about 4 years since Andres and his siblings have been in foster care with the same family.
Maria Jesus, their social worker, worked with the Ministry of health to have them seen at the Max Seidel school upon our arrival. Both were seen on the 1st day, were brought on Sunday since they came six hours by car, with surgery scheduled for Thursday and Friday respectively.
Our attachment w/ the boys was instantaneous. They were the only patients in our unit for a couple of days and got alot of one- to-one care. Before you knew it, they felt very comfortable with all the staff, and we took them everywhere on the ship, so they could have a little change in their environment. This turned into taking them for lunch and dinner to the galley, getting entire tours of the ship, getting into the helicopters, flight deck, bridge and tower, and sitting on the Captains Chair.
I felt that these 11 days with us were life-changing for the boys, while also leaving a footprint in the heart of those of us who shared so much with them. Luis Eduardo made sure that he let us know the following words which I will never forget: “I have never been given so much love in my life… Thank you”. Seeing them off on the flight deck was very challenging, since both couldn’t stop crying and didn’t want to leave. As I saw them walk away into the helicopter, my heart ached and yet I felt so proud to have had those two little souls come into our lives and having been able to bring so much joy into their lives. It reminded me that many times in life so much can be given with so little.
I received an E-mail thanking the Comfort for all that was done for the boys. Both were discharged from the military facility after an agonizing week of physical therapy which Luis Eduardo described as “hell”. The post operative care and physical therapy received was excellent as described by Maria Jesus. Both are back in their foster homes in Ipiales. I look forward to continuing my communication with them via E-mail. Thankfully with my frequent trips to Colombia, I hope to visit them in the future as well.