Dr. Gary Pitts of Warsaw has traveled on annual mission trips to Guatemala since 1993.

During a trip in 1997, Pitts met Cristina Macario Morales, a 12-year-old Quiche Indian girl from Chiqua Dos, Guatemala, suffering from spina bifida and an ulcer on her foot.

If the foot was left untreated, it could have caused gangrene and killed Cristina. The wound was infected so severely that the 23-member mission group kept Cristina with them during the entire trip, keeping an eye on her foot. Members of the group even carried her.

While the mission group, including Pitts, was able to eventually take care of her foot in Guatemala, the spina bifida could only be taken care of with surgery. A surgery Cristina could only really get in the United States.

"The family thought that the reason Cristina had the problems she did was because they thought she was under a curse," Pitts said.

Guatemala has the facilities for the operation, but the Macario family faced a problem.

"The system is so different down there. There is a hospital down there where they could have done (the surgery) but they would have to have paid up front," Pitts said.

Cristina's father, Timoteo Macario Pol, makes only $50 to $80 a week selling fruit at the market. He's considered a well-to-do man on that income in his village.

"She lives in a very nice hut. It's nice because it's cement and has a concrete floor," Pitts said. "It has bar windows."

She had only one toy.

"When I found her, she was sitting in the middle of the cement floor playing with sawdust," he said.

Pitts knew Cristina had to have the surgery or face paralysis during puberty. He said with spina bifida, Cristina's spinal cord is essentially caught up in tissue and fat that hold it down to the spinal column. Once she hits her growth spurt, without surgery, the spinal cord will not move and will become damaged.

Cristina is the first child Pitts has brought back to the United States to help, but she is not the first person he's helped.

Pitts had previously treated Cristina's Aunt Maria for a severe case of juvenile-onset rheumatoid arthritis. It was Maria who suggested to Pitts that Cristina suffered from the same problem, but one look at Cristina and Pitts knew it was something more.

Since meeting Cristina, Pitts and many others worked to bring her to the United States for the crucial operation. Sen. Richard Lugar even aided the cause by speeding up the process for Cristina to get her visa, Pitts said.

With all the volunteers and donations, the visa was the only item Pitts had to pay for out of his own pocket.

Fort Wayne's Lutheran Hospital donated the operation, performed March 26 by Dr. James Dozier. Lutheran Hospital provided all medical services at no cost to the Macario family. Kosciusko Community Hospital donated the post-op care. Others donating their time or services include Preferred Anesthesia, Fort Wayne; Dr. Pollifone, urologist; Dr. Dan Cummiskey, pediatric orthopedics; Dr. Steve Cohen, pediatric nephrologist; Drs. K.T. and Anita Kishan; and Dr. Smith, gastroenologist.

"Every one of them did it for free," Pitts said.

American Airlines donated three airline tickets for Cristina, Timoteo and a village pastor.

Pitts said the surgery and care won't make her walk any better, but will keep her from becoming paralyzed.

Through a translator, Esmeralda Cruz, Timoteo said, "I'm very grateful to the doctors. It is a miracle that God gave them. I'm very grateful for the doctors and all the people who visited us."

Cristina's mother is at home in Guatemala awaiting their return and taking care of Cristina's five siblings. She receives news of Cristina's surgery via e-mail sent to the capital which is then delivered to her by a friend or neighbor.

Pitts and the 23 people who took the last trip to Guatemala, including seven teen-agers, are already planning their next mission trip in March 2000. They have decided to become a non-profit organization called Hands for Hope.

"I really think every American should do a mission," Pitts said. "The advantage every American would get would be that they would get a perspective on their lives. We are so focused on material (objects) that we're not happy. I stand before you now guilty. The people down there are happy and they have nothing."

Pitts said Cristina will be released from KCH today but it will be one to two weeks before she goes back to Guatemala. Until then, she will continue to stay with her host family, the Kishans.

"This little girl is special. She's got a smile that will brighten up a room," Pitts said.

Pitts also said he wants to try to get her educated so she doesn't have to farm. He said he will pay for her education, which is cheaper down in Guatemala it is in the United States.

Asked if he thought Cristina would ever get married and have children of her own, Pitts said, "She's considered damaged goods. It would be very hard to find someone to marry her. Her aunt is 30 years old and never married, because like Cristina, she's been considered too sick."

Besides better health and an opportunity to receive an education, Cristina will also take a scrapbook with her to Guatemala of her trip to the United States.

The members of the mission group put the scrapbook together Monday night with the help of consultant Carrie Schneider of Creative Memories.

Sally DeWald, who helped with coordinate Cristina's stay, said, "Cristina's a little bit shy. She's very sweet. She's understandably a little cautious but she does everything we ask her to do."

Translating for Cristina, Cruz said Cristina misses her food back home and misses her mother. She won't miss the American food, especially the hamburgers.

Quiche Indians are descendants of the Mayan Indians. [[In-content Ad]]