Shen's Story

Shen was 12 years old when she was first seen by the CHORES team. Shen was born with arthrogryposis, a rare congenital muscle tissue disorder causing her muscles to contract and her joints to freeze in a bent, deformed position. Due to the deformities which developed due to years of minimal medical attention, Shen had to crawl upon the ground, on the backs of her hands and knees, wearing shoes on her hands to lessen the pain as she dragged herself on the ground. Each morning she would crawl to school more than a quarter of a mile dodging not only rocks and broken glass but the jeering from her classmates. Despite the huge calluses that developed over her hands and knees and the obvious pain of crawling, Shen refused to remain hidden in her home, shunned from the public because of her disability.

CHORES’ original plan was to solicit the donation of a wheelchair but with witnessing first hand how she crawled down the road to school and her drive overcome whatever obstacle was in her way, the plan to help Shen quickly escalated. CHORES therapists felt that with the proper medical and surgical treatment in the United States, Shen’s life could be dramatically changed. Capturing Shen’s condition and spirit on film her case was presented to pediatric orthopedic surgeon’s in Jacksonville, Florida, who felt, through a series of operations they could straighten both her arms and legs.

CHORES volunteers then raised monies and arranged to bring Shen to Jacksonville for surgery. Graciously, Wolfson Children’s Hospital agreed to donate Shen’s medical care and extensive rehabilitation. In just over 5 months, Shen underwent 4 major orthopedic surgeries on both her arms and legs to straighten them. She also had an extended stay in the hospital due to issues of inadequate nutrition. She required 13 pins through her legs for over 12 weeks to correct her deformities then spent 8 weeks in a body cast. She had casts on her arms and a feeding tube in her nose. She was totally dependent for almost everything; hygiene, dressing, feeding, changing positions in bed, and being transferred in and out of a car.

After the complex surgeries, Shen then started the long road of physical therapy. Living with one of CHORES physical therapists and receiving countless hours of painful rehabilitation, Shen was finally able to stand with a walker. After 7 months of living in Florida, Shen was finally able to return to Grenada not with a new wheelchair but with the ability to stand on her “new legs”. She was also able to use her arms in their new and straightened position. Shen is now 16 years old and is still continuing her physical therapy in Grenada. She is still supported by the CHORES team who participate in her ongoing care during the spring and fall projects to Grenada. Shen’s story is truly remarkable, however; Shen is only one of the thousands of children that have been helped by CHORES.