Imagine spending your childhood being shunned by everybody at school, Li Ying spent her childhood being told that she looked scary and was refused entrance into the local school in China because of her looks.
Li Ying was born in a tiny Chinese village with an acute medical condition. She had a craniofacial cleft that went through her lip, nose, eye socket and into her brain cavity.
American Craniofacial surgeon Dr. Craig Hobar said her condition was rare and one of the most complex he had ever seen in his life.
And that’s when he decided to jump in and help her, his non-profit, LEAP Global Missions, brought 6-year-old Li Ying and her mom to Dallas for life changing surgeries.
With more than ten years of surgery done on her by Dr. Hobar, Li Ying’s face has been transformed and now she can breathe normally, develop normal speech, and smile.
“Each trip, so many people have helped me out and not only me, but my mom, and we have really been blessed by all the people that have made a difference,” Li Ying said through tears.
Li Ying spent a year in Austin, Texas, with Dr. Hobar and his wife while she completed her orthodontic treatment and have her final surgery. “She became fluent in English and returned to China where she is attending university in Beijing as a marketing major,” Dr. Hobar said.
“Several families from Dallas and Austin are supporting her education,” said Dr. Hobar. “She is knocking it out of the park in her second year.”
Li Ying is now a gorgeous teen living in Austin with Dr. Hobar and his wife while she completes her orthodontic therapy.
We admire what the kind Dr Hobar has done for Li Ying and is such an inspiration for a world where such acts of kindness are getting rarer and rarer.
