14-year old Filipino's spine operation deemed successful. Rehabilitation begins

NEW YORK– After 18 hours of extensive spinal surgery to correct his acute scoliosis, 14-year old Francis Alcala from  the Philippines woke up in a ward inside Montefiore hospital with a realization: In six months he may be able to walk again.

This likely possibility is due to the love of the boy's mother, Myrna, his family and the people who have made it their mission to give Francis this chance, particularly Dorita Urrata of Children's Chance Foundation and the staff of Montefiore hospital.

The surgery was performed on young Francis on Thursday, February 11 at 7:30 PM. Dr, Amaral did the most extensive surgery – the one which made used of cobalt-titanium rods and screws to fix the spine. The New York Daily news reported that Dr. Amaral said he was able to repair only 50% of Francis' severely deformed spine.

After the procedure, Francis was able to sit down straight and work with several therapists, who admitted that every single day is a journey to complete recovery. 

"From a technical standpoint, everything was done beautifully, there have been no postoperative issues at all," said Dr. James Goodrich, the pediatric neurosurgeon who detethered Francis' spinal cord. "The key question is how much, if any, permanent damage has been done to the spinal cord over the years. If he had lived in this country, we would have taken care of this when he was 4 or 5 years old." 

For his part, Francis was grateful for the chance to lead a normal life: "Thank you for all the help, especially to the doctors and everyone who made donations for me to come here," Francis said last week, managing to squeeze out a smile despite his post-operative pain. "I'm so glad it's over. I want to walk again."

According to his doctors, Francis is showing improvement. They acknowledged that Francis' feet, which were before the operation pale due to limited blood supply are now pink and war from a good blood circulation.

Mother and son flew to New York last October and have been living with relatives in Queens preparing for Francis' surgery. After several weeks of recuperation, the Alcalas are due to return to the Philippines.