Restoring a shattered life

When Jean and Vic Valente of St. James first happened upon Adwoa Frimpomaa in 2004, the then-14-year-old orphan was on the floor of the 10-by-10-foot room she shared with family in a small Ghanian village, her body riddled with open sores.

Six months earlier, the girl had been walking to a nearby village to buy yams when she was struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run collision. Frimpomaa lost her right ear and three front teeth, sustained a broken leg, and was left with gashes on her scalp, neck and torso.

Three years later, after nearly 10 hours of reconstructive surgery on Long Island, the young woman, now 17, is on her way to a new life.

At a news conference yesterday at Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park, where the first of Frimpomaa's two surgeries took place, her doctor detailed her procedures. Frimpomaa, who has learned some English by watching television shows like "Walker, Texas Ranger," smiled and said, "I'm happy."

The Valentes, both 74 now, were nearing the end of a trip to Ghana when a young girl approached them and said, "Accident, my house." The girl led them to Frimpomaa, who had been out of a local hospital for two weeks and had little care since. Jean Valente cleaned the girl's sores, gave her a pink teddy bear and promised to return to check up on her.

After two years of effort to bring Frimpomaa to the United States, Jean Valente returned to Ghana last July to prepare her for the trip to Long Island.

"She didn't know what was going to happen to her," Jean Valente said. "She just followed."

After a few months on Long Island, the young woman had her first surgery. Dr. Andrew Jacono, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Schneider, made an artificial ear from rib bone and cartilage.

During the 6 1/2-hour procedure, Jacono also added a layer of tissue to connect the artificial ear's cartilage to Frimpomaa's bloodstream. The second surgery was a facelift done to remove scar tissue.

Jacono said the surgery and hospital charges would have totaled about $150,000 if he and the hospital had not waived their fees. Frimpomaa faces another procedure with Jacono to reduce the scarring on her head and neck.

Now living with the Valentes, Frimpomaa, who likes to paint her toenails and eat coffee ice cream, wants to stay in the United States permanently, but needs permission from federal officials to do so.

She yearns to attend high school, Jean Valente said. Because she was unable to afford the notebook and pencil required for school in Ghana, she had little education in her home country. Valente said Frimpomaa enjoys playing with the couple's granddaughter, not yet 4.

To help Frimpomaa feel more at home, Jean Valente said she plans to take her to Ghanian neighborhoods in the Bronx this summer.