Yulce is Home
It has been four years and who knows how many surgeries. I estimate she has had 25 surgeries to repair her burn injuries and her curved back. She is a new person and a 17 year old young woman.
I flew to L.A. to meet all the hosts and to see Dr. Peter Grossman and his wife. They all have been so amazing as they have done so much to change Yulce’s life. Yulce was very much an American teenager. She was not ready to go back to Indonesia. She spoke English and had little Indonesian language she used on a regular basis.
We did not expect her to be here for four years. We thought one year would cover everything. The biggest issue for the three extra years was the problems with her back. We had to find an orthopedic surgeon who would correct the back problems. Dr. Peter Grossman made a contact and found an Orthopedic surgeon who was willing to help her. The result was good but the years added to our original goal.
She was a great traveler. She was on time and had no complaints. She did tell me she was nervous to go home. The day we flew to her island after traveling for four days she told me she was afraid. Her home would be new and the life in remote Indonesia was very different from the middle class in California.
Esther Scarborough took her to see her family. Yulce was slow to hug her parents and kept looking around at the dirt floor and the small house. Esther spoke to her about how much her family loved her and how she must learn to adjust to her culture. It will take time. The best thing Yulce has going for her is that she is a sweet girl. I think she will learn to be thankful to everyone who helped her and to appreciate her own culture.
Would we as a foundation put out the effort to help her if we had to do it all over again–YES. She was in a horrible situation–just look at her first photos. We knew there would be cultural issues to deal with but they are secondary to the foremost issue–she could not live with the crippling burn injuries. We all did the right thing and now it is time for a wonderful young woman to come home. She was rescued for a purpose.