Boy Expresses Fear, Hope Over Surgery

A 14-year-old Anaheim boy who ran away to his native Mexico because he was depressed that his parents could not afford corrective surgery for his facial scars said Monday that he believes that life will be different after today.

Francisco Vargas, who returned home a little more than two weeks ago after fleeing in late April, will undergo cosmetic surgery this afternoon that will remove the long scars stretching under his chin and along his neck that he received last year in a fire started by children playing with matches.

The day before he ran away, Francisco and his mother, Felipa Pineda Vargas, had discussed his frustration over his schoolwork and the family’s inability to find an affordable plastic surgeon who could reduce or remove his facial scars, the mother said.

She said he was depressed with the idea of being scarred for the rest of his life and did not see the need to continue going to school.

Francisco took the 2,100-mile journey to his aunt and uncle’s home in Mexico City by bus, with only $50 in his pocket. And he returned the same way--broke, exhausted but very happy, he said.

When Francisco’s story was reported in May, Dr. Walter Ledergerber with the European Clinic for Cosmetic Surgery in Newport Beach decided to donate his services.

“It was the best thing I could do after reading his story,” Ledergerber said Monday.

According to the boy’s mother, however, getting her son back took some persuading.

“We told him of the doctor’s offers, and we mailed him the newspapers,” she said. “After he studied the articles and believed that he would get help, he then decided to come back.”

Before he could return, though, Francisco was faced with the legal obstacle of re-entering the United States--his family is in the country illegally and lacks the proper documentation.

But the thought that he could lose his chances for surgery before he could get his legal papers in order compelled Francisco to hop on a bus and return as soon as possible. He was able to enter the country without the required documents, Francisco and his parents said.

The parents moved their five children from Mexico a year ago to enable them to get an education and to find treatment for Francisco. Several clinics and hospitals, however, turned them away because of the father’s unemployment and the family’s lack of financial means and health insurance.

According to Ledergerber, he visited Francisco on June 15, the same day the teen-ager arrived home from Mexico, “so he’d feel like the ball was rolling and we were actually going to do something about it.”

Ledergerber and Santa Ana-based Coastal Communities Hospital are providing their services--valued at more than $45,000--without compensation. The surgery, which will be conducted on an outpatient basis, will involve grafting skin from Francisco’s thigh to his face to cover the scars.

In addition to the surgery, which is expected to last from two to three hours, Francisco will have to visit the doctor’s office almost daily for the first week. In the next 18 months, he will have to return for up to three “touch-ups,” Ledergerber said.

On Monday, the day before his operation, the shy teen-ager could only say he was very content about the surgery--but not without the usual jitters.

“I feel afraid about it,” he said, “but I know everything will be fine.”

His mother added: “He’s very happy that his face will again be normal, and he now sees there are good people that are willing to help.”