Since Hieu Thach, from Vietnam, received corrective surgery on his feet through Brittany's Hope, he can cruise on his host family's lawn tractor.
Hieu, a Vietnamese teen here for medical intervention, (second from right), is discovering American culture with the help of his host family, Barb (from left), Becky and Tom Lytle.
Hieu and his next-door neighbor and buddy, Jamie Lewis, share a backyard moment.
Hieu was born with deformed feet, which have now been corrected surgically.
Before corrective surgery, Hieu suffered from club feet, a genetic deformity. Dr. Lee S. Segal of Hershey Medical Center was one of the doctors who performed the surgery.
Hieu Thach was tired of baby steps. He was ready to walk like a man.
The Vietnamese teen, whose name is pronounced "Hugh," was born with club feet. He walked on the tops of his twisted feet and used canes and crutches.
Hieu had never worn shoes.
While corrective surgery for the condition is generally done at birth in America, no procedure was available in Vietnam, where Hieu lived in a rehabilitation center. His impoverished mother had placed him there after his father died.
But Hieu's luck was about to change, thanks to Candace Abel, director of the Elizabethtown-based Brittany's Hope Foundation, who took the first steps toward helping Hieu walk normally.
On behalf of the foundation, which assists with adoptions and children's humanitarian projects, Abel visited the center where Hieu lived.
"He came up and beamed at me and really advocated for himself," Abel says. "He showed me how fast he could run on his feet and how he compensated for them. (People there) were saying he really needed better crutches, and I said, 'Why don't we just turn his feet around?' "
Hieu would become the first child to get medical intervention through Brittany's Hope, which received assistance from the Degenhardt Foundation and other donors.
Almost two years after meeting Abel, the boy with a ready smile was on a plane bound for America and a chance to stand tall.
***
In July 2007, Hieu moved in with his host parents, Barb and Tom Lytle, of Elizabethtown.
He knew very little English, except certain essentials, and the Lytles knew virtually no Vietnamese.
"He knew 'toilet' and 'I'm hungry,' " Mrs. Lytle remembers with a smile.
"He said 'thank you' a lot, always very polite," says Lytle, who is Abel's brother and works full-time for the National Guard.
He and his wife, an administrator at Penn State Children's Hospital, have two daughters and had also pursued an adoption through Brittany's Hope, which fell through.
Certified foster parents, they jumped at the chance to host Hieu.
"It's interesting how God has worked things out," Mrs. Lytle says.
In August and January, Hieu underwent pro bono corrective foot surgery by Drs. Lee S. Segal and Kristine Fortuna, at Hershey Medical Center. Additional medical expenses were underwritten by the center's Children's International Fund.
Hieu, an Elizabethtown Middle School student, struggled through infections and painstaking recovery and now receives weekly physical therapy. He may soon have back surgery, because doctors believe he may have scoliosis, or spine curvature.
While Hieu is thought to be 14, there is conflicting documentation on his age. He was initially placed in the sixth grade and hopes to remain in America to complete seventh grade, but his time here is based on his medical clearance.
So far his treatment has been successful.
He can ride a bike with training wheels and drive a lawn tractor — one of his favorite things — and with the help of crutches, is learning to walk and run on his healthier feet.
And best of all, he can wear trendy sneakers.
***
Hieu experienced an amusing rite of American teen passage at school.
"He came home and said he had 'attention,' " Mrs. Lytle says.
Actually, he meant detention. Apparently there was a rubber band/spitball incident, the Lytles say.
He received a different sort of attention from his homeroom teacher, Lindsay Troop. She gave him certificates praising his smile and recognizing his "need for speed," due to his fast mobility in the hallways.
Hieu has embraced American culture and is gradually learning the language, but his host parents make sure he continues to speak his native language with their nieces, who were adopted from Vietnam.
Like many American teen boys, he wears masculine bling — rubber bracelets and leather necklaces, including a cross — and sports long, hang-in-your-eyes bangs, which his host parents keep threatening to cut. During his stay here, Hieu went trick-or-treating and celebrated Christmas — a gift-filled one — for the first time.
"We kind of spoiled him," Mrs. Lytle says. It was a bit overwhelming for a youngster who had lived in a hut with a leaky roof and slept on the floor.
Hieu has also been introduced to favorite American staples, like pizza, spaghetti and hamburgers.
The Lytles are regularly impressed by Hieu's quick wit, intelligence and ability to adapt.
He loves taking things apart to try to fix them and is preparing to attend a robotics class this summer, Lytle says.
Although Hieu is a kid of few American words, he is ever-ready with one favorite teen term.
"Awesome."
Totally.
And now, thanks to Brittany's Hope, he can walk the talk — even in Nikes.
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