Cambodian girl adjusts to Hawaii

Leam's leg injury poses dilemma for her doctor

By Craig Gima

In a world that is still completely new to her, Sithan Leam prefers what is familiar. But there is one exception: a growing habit of watching Korean soap operas.

Leam, 14, arrived in Honolulu last month from Anglong Thor, a small rural village in Cambodia, for surgery that could help her walk for the first time.

Yesterday, a potluck lunch was held in Leam's honor at the University Avenue Baptist Church with members of the local Cambodian community and some of the people who helped raise more than $10,000 to bring her to Honolulu.

The food included sushi, muffins and tossed salad, but Leam made a simple plate of rice and roasted chicken.

Anthony Deth, whose family is hosting Leam, said they bought her new clothes at Kmart. But Leam prefers to wear the same clothes she brought from Cambodia. Most things "are just too strange for her," Deth said.

Even calling home was a new experience, and Leam and her family did not really know how to use a phone, Deth said.

In the last couple of weeks, Leam has been adjusting and smiling more, he said. She especially likes playing with Deth's two children. Leam took care of her younger brothers and sisters in Cambodia..

Her village consists of five families with no running water, electricity or paved roads.

Her family uses an oxcart for transportation, so even cars are new to Leam.

There are no doctors in the village, and when she was an infant, Leam suffered a severe burn on her left leg. When the wound healed, the scar tissue fused her ankle to her thigh.

Dr. Gunther Hintz, founder and president of the charity Medicorps, brought Leam to the attention of Shriners Hospital, which agreed to treat her.

Next month, Leam and Hintz, who is now her legal guardian, will meet with Dr. Ellen Raney at Shriners to decide Leam's treatment.

Hintz said there are two main options. Doctors could amputate -- most likely above the knee -- and fit her with a prosthesis. Or she can undergo a series of surgeries, skin grafts and physical therapy to try and save the leg.

There are potential complications, Hintz said. Leam's joints and muscles are functional but not fully developed and have not supported any weight.

Still, Hintz said he favors trying to save the leg.

"If she goes back to Cambodia on her own legs, it's going to be a tremendous inspiration," Hintz said.

Leam will also be able to learn some English while she is here, a valuable skill back in Cambodia, Hintz said.

Deth said they are starting to teach Leam her ABCs. During yesterday's potluck a retired teacher volunteered to help tutor her after the surgery.

In an interview through a translator, Leam said she is still homesick. She prefers Cambodian food and has not yet been to a McDonald's or the beach.

Leam is shy around strangers and gave mostly one-word answers, but smiled and laughed occasionally as translator Patrick Keo spoke with her in the Khmer language.

Deth said she has not really wanted to venture out much from the apartment near Shriners where she is staying.

But Leam can watch Korean dramas for hours, even if she does not understand Korean and cannot read the English subtitles, Deth said.

Asked what she likes about them, Leam said she doesn't know. Sometimes it's funny, she said.

She is learning more Korean than English, Deth joked. "It may not be a bad idea because there are a lot of Korean tourists now in Cambodia."