SAN JOSE (KRON)– Fifteen-year-old Dawit Berhanyu arrived in San Jose from Ethiopia to undergo orthopedic surgery on Sunday.
Berhanyu has scoliosis which is a curvature of the spine.
Doctor Jeffrey Kanel of Good Samaritan Hospital is performing the procedure after a colleague in Ethiopia proposed he was best suitable.
The Lack of medical services in Berhanyu’s home country makes performing the procedure nearly impossible.
Dr. Kanel plans to install metal braces around Berhanyu’s spine to correct the curvature.
Dr. Kanel isn’t charging Berhanyu’s family a penny for the procedure.
“This is just my way of using my skill in giving back to somebody that needS help that can’t get it otherwise no other reason just to do a good thing for somebody,” he said.
Berhanyu’s surgery is on Sunday and he’ll have a few weeks to recover before returning to Ethiopia.