Rony Javier Cruz-Oviedo is a little boy who loves to show affection.
“He’s a hugger,” said Efrain Horta, director of language missions with Birmingham Baptist Association.
The affection Rony shows is normal for any child. But these days, thanks to efforts begun more than a year ago, the small boy from Honduras has much for which to be happy.
This summer, doctors at Birmingham’s Medical Center East performed surgery to correct Rony’s club feet. The operation was performed free of charge by the father and son team of John and Scott Morris and Scott Doyle, with Rony’s hospitalization also free.
Now Rony, who hailed from a life of poverty in an isolated section of Honduras and was prevented from playing with other children, is enjoying life in Alabama.
Horta said the youth is now walking with special boots and a walker as he recovers from the surgery. The surgery was done in several phases and Rony still must undergo therapy three times each week.
“He cannot walk very much, but he’s doing very well,” said Horta. “He’s learning to walk with his new feet.”
The child is attending kindergarten at Epic Elementary School in Birmingham, along with some other classes.
Before the surgery, Rony, 10, was often forced to play alone.
“He played alone because some of the children didn’t want to play with him,” Horta said, translating for the small boy, who speaks Spanish.
The memory causes Rony to go silent and begin crying. He soon smiles again after being tickled and at hearing laughter – a sound recognizable in any language.
Horta said Rony’s disability not only prevented his developing physically, but socially.
“He has never been in contact with many people,” Horta said, adding the young boy has never been to school. As a result, communicating with him – even for those who speak the same language – is often challenging.
“That’s why it’s very difficult to try to maintain a conversation.” Horta said Rony is not on the same level as American children his age who have been “in contact with many people.”
“It’s very difficult for him to learn English quickly,” Horta said. To date, the boy has picked up on words such as “thank you” and “oh my goodness.”
At home in Honduras Rony lives with his mother and four brothers in a mountainous area that Horta said has bad “bad, bad roads.” The family was abandoned by Rony’s father.
“They don’t have electricity; they don’t have water,” Horta said. “they don’t have a bathroom lie over here.”
Horta recalled how Rony began trembling when he was placed in the tub for a bath. “He is accustomed to taking a bath in the river or putting some water over him,” Horta said.
The exposure to American culture has brought many new thins into Rony’s life, with Horta describing the child’s fascination with television.
“He wants to see television 24 hours a day,” Horta said. “Of course, he doesn’t understand; constantly, he asks what they said.”
The antics of “The Three Stooges” and “Tom and Jerry” have become favorites in the child’s life.
Rony has been less interested in American favorites most children enjoy, with Horta saying the youth is struggling to acquire a taste for hot dogs and hamburgers. Horta said Rony has also resisted milk because he is unfamiliar with it.
Horta said the school Rony’s brother attend in Honduras is far from their home, requiring his brothers to walk a long distance.
Horta said the problem with Rony’s legs kept him from walking the long distance to school, resulting in his not learning to write.
During his visit here, Rony visited the Birmingham Zoo. Translating, Horta relates how the boy enjoyed the elephant and hippopotamus, along with “the big lizard.”
“He had never seen a crocodile,” Horta said. He called it ‘that big animal that goes under the water.’”
Rony, who is in Alabama several weeks during his recovery, attends services at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Homewood.
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