Special Thanks to HPPC for this write-up on Alex. See more from their publication at www.hppc.org/one
Rachel Kiarie reads aloud, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” from Psalm 139. It is obvious this well-loved verse is a source of great comfort. In many ways, this Psalm has become the lens through which Rachel views life.
Her grandson, Alex Kiarie, sits across the room as he listens – for the first time – to his grandmother explain what happened his first days of life. Alex was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 1988, to Rachel’s daughter, Jen Waceke. Rachel watched her Jen hold Alex for the first time and was shocked to witness her daughter’s unexpected reaction to her new son.
“Alex’s mother cried when she saw Alex for the first time … She was upset, because of the way he was born,” said Rachel. “I asked, ‘What’s wrong? Did the child die?’”
No, he was alive. However, Alex was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palette, which is basically a big hole that runs through the middle of the face. According to leading physicians, one of every 700 babies worldwide is born with this condition each year. The bilateral cleft lip and palette is the severest form, which makes it difficult for a child with this condition to lead a normal life. The look tends to scare people who have never seen it before, and average observers do not always react graciously when seeing people with this facial deformity.
This condition also prevents Alex from speaking normally, and eating is challenging. In the U.S. there are many centers that treat this condition early and effectively. However, this is not the case in most parts of the world. Rachel explained that Jen, a young single mother, burst into tears and wouldn’t stop crying. Alex had to be taken from Jen to the hospital nursery, since she was so distraught. The hospital staff scrambled to manage the situation. Nurses took Rachel aside to ask her if she wanted to take the child, or if they wanted Alex to be sent to a children’s home.Rachel did not hesitate. “No! I’ll take him the way he is!”
Jen lived with her mother, so together they brought baby Alex home. For a while, Jen suffered from depression, so Rachel and other family members helped care for Alex. And the first several weeks were filled with visits from Kenya’s equivalent to Child Protective Services to see if this family was able to shoulder the considerable responsibility of caring for this special-needs child. Rachel assured them they were capable of caring for him. The family could not let him go.
Tragedy struck the family again. When Alex was only a year old, Jen was killed when the gas stove in their home exploded.
Once again, Rachel had to step in to take care of Alex. From that day on she raised him as her own child. In fact, Alex was raised alongside his aunt and two uncles, who became more like his older siblings. Alex even thinks of his grandmother as his mother, since she is the only mother he has ever known.
“It was so difficult, because Alex couldn’t even suck [to drink milk or pull food off of a spoon],” explained Rachel. She had to spoon-feed him with liquid or pulverized food until he was about 10 years old.
During that time, Rachel owned and operated a small restaurant. It became increasingly difficult to manage her business, while also providing Alex with the required amount of care.
Because children born with facial deformities are often forced into a life of loneliness and isolation because of ignorance or superstition, Rachel hoped for medical intervention that could eventually lead to an easier life for Alex. People in their community were not very kind. In Africa, if children are born with a deformity, most think of it as a curse.
“This wasn’t good,” she explained. “I come from a Christian home, so we believe that we are all God’s creation like Psalm 139 says … God made Alex this way for a reason.”
Besides helping Alex eat daily, Rachel also had to spend a lot of time taking Alex to many doctors, trying to find proper medical care.
Specialized medical care is scarce and very expensive in Kenya. Nevertheless, Alex was able to have three surgeries growing up, thanks to medical mission teams that visited the surrounding area from the United States and Holland. However, Rachel soon discovered that successfully improving his condition required much more extensive, multi-year treatments with multiple operations, orthodontic care and speech therapy. So these surgeries – while well intended – did not make the necessary dramatic improvements.
So, Rachel left to visit her niece in Dallas in 2006, with hopes of investigating possibilities for Alex to find better medical care in the United States. Alex, who was 17 years old at the time, stayed behind with Rachel’s only surviving daughter, Belinda.
Rachel has since not returned to Kenya. Her immigration status was changed, and she worked with friends of the family to get a U.S. medical visa for Alex once he graduated from Kenyan high school. With his medical visa in hand, Alex came to Dallasin November 2007 with hopes and dreams of a brighter future.
God’s Healing Hands in America
Looking for a church home, they began attending a local Anglican congregation in Dallas. Then one Sunday, Rachel and Alex were invited by HPPC members Gladys Wanjiru Gathiga and the late Bernard Meta to visit HPPC’s All Nations worship service. Their lives have never been the same.
“As soon as we walked into worship, Alex was pulled from my hands by the [All Nations] Youth team, and that was it!” she describes. “They made us feel so welcome, especially Alex. We feel completely at home at HPPC.”
Immediately, Fred Nvadi began visiting Alex regularly at their apartment letting him know that he belonged and was loved.
Likewise, the Rev. Cyprian Guchienda became increasingly interested and concerned about Alex’s medical needs once Rachel called on him for guidance. After seeking medical help for Alex at Parkland Hospital, Rachel was given a very detailed description of the complex, multi-year medical care Alex would need and potential costs.
“It was very scary,” admitted Rachel. She had not realized just how long it would take to remedy Alex’s condition, and the price tag was equally daunting. Rachel immediately called Cyprian and asked for advice, and most important, prayers.
After this call for help, Cyprian, by God’s leading, was the catalyst for turning Alex’s life around. Cyprian began researching options for necessary medical treatment, using the breadth and depth of knowledge among members at HPPC. Tending to his “flock” in the most incredible way, he personally spoke to many physicians and dentists at HPPC to seek guidance and evaluate options.
“HPPC is full of so many incredibly talented, experienced people,” says Cyprian. “God can work wonders when we come together to help find solutions for our brothers or sisters in Christ that are hurting or in need.”
Thanks to his search for information, Cyprian was told to refer Alex to Dr. Craig Hobar, who is the founder and medical director of the LEAP Foundation, a Dallas- based non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and enriching people’s lives around the world by providing specialized medical services in the name of Christ.
Not only does Dr. Hobar lead the LEAP Foundation, but he is also director of international development, craniofacial surgery at Medical City Children’s Hospital, a founder of the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, not to mention a clinical teacher at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Dr. Hobar’s foundation brings together doctors with incredibly specialized backgrounds who work together to help people like Alex with complicated, difficult situations. The LEAP Foundation (which stands for Life Enhancement Association for People) has a unique mission statement: “to use our surgical talents to help show the love of Christ.”
Alex met with Dr. Hobar and his staff. Then he and Rachel heard the words they’d prayed for: “Everything will be taken care of.”
Rachel could not believe it. She immediately started crying and thanking God.
Alex since has had four surgeries in Dallas and his life has already improved. He’s able to speak and eat more effectively.
There is still a long road ahead. Dr. Hobar and his team at LEAP are committed to a multi-year plan, and Alex is halfway there. He has had orthodontic care, an operation to help him speak better, and a bone graft to fill in missing bone in his gums and roof of his mouth. They plan to complete his orthodontics, surgical advancement of his upper jaw, and a surgical redo of his lip and nose.
Also, Alex needs extensive speech therapy. He is working closely with a speech therapist from Children’s Medical Center, who has offered to donate her time to help Alex. He’s given weekly homework assignments and practices daily.
Words cannot describe the kind of gratitude Alex and Rachel feel for Dr. Hobar and those at HPPC who connected them to this wonderful organization. LEAP has supported the costs of Alex’s surgery. Dr. Hobar and his craniofacial orthodontist have donated all their services, and Dallas Day Surgery Center and Baylor have also made significant investments.
“Alex is the nicest, most appreciative young man. It is a real pleasure to help him,” said Dr. Hobar.
“I wanted to find a way to use my skills as a surgeon to help people who didn’t have access to reconstructive surgical care,” Dr. Hobar said. “So many kids have to grow up with the embarrassment of a facial deformity because they live in a country with little or no surgeons who can perform this type of surgery. We wanted to do what we could do to help.”
Dr. Hobar uses his sacrificial service as a ministry in many ways. He explained: “Alex is a good example of what LEAP is about – faith, personal relationship, and commitment to the long term. God laid the foundation when He sent His son to establish a personal relationship with us. He committed to the long term – eternity. God has unlimited resources to make it all work. Our job is easy – to believe and step forward in faith. The rest is all Him.”
Redemption and Hope
This 22-year-old high school graduate has struggled to find employment in the U.S. because of his medical treatment timelines and his communication limitations. Many times he and Rachel have struggled to make ends meet. These challenges only make his resolve stronger to cling to his career plans. He intends to begin college soon. He will study pre-med or biology, so he can work in the medical field to help others like him.
Alex says his goal is to be able to give back to others once his treatments are done. He earnestly wants to serve others in the name of Christ. His heart’s desire is to, “work for organizations like Dr. Hobar’s or the United Nations where you don’t only earn a living by doing your job, but you help others get better in their lives like others have made mine better.”
God continues to work in Alex’s life. In April, Alex dedicated his life to Christ, and he is learning how to be a disciple by being made new in Christ daily.
Alex and Rachel are even interested in going on a medical mission trip to help Dr. Hobar’s organization in Kenya. Romans 8:31 and Proverbs 3:5-6 are Scriptures that Alex leans on often. What inspires Alex most is eventually seeing the final results of his multi-year medical transformation, so he can “hopefully fit in the community more comfortably.” He bravely walks forward in faith, humbly grateful for the help he has received.
Rachel testifies, “It is a miracle that Alex has made it this far!” She waits patiently with great anticipation to see how – through Dr. Hobar’s work – his life will be transformed and made new. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!” In every way, this profound truth couldn’t have greater meaning for Alex Kiarie.
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