Injury Date: 1997
Injuries: shrapnel damage to tendons and muscles in lower left leg
District: Trieu Phong, Quang Tri Province
Intake Date: General Medical Assesment 01, June 2001; General Medical Assessment 02, December 2001
CPI Assistance: Tendon release, physical rehabilitation; second tendon release; physical rehabilitation
Occupation: child, student

Vuong was five when he and his older brother were walking home from school one afternoon. They took a small detour, and along the path they found a steel ball. They began playing with it tossing it around, kicking it like a soccer ball.

What they were playing with was a BLU-26/36 (‘bombie’). When it went off both boys were injured. No one was killed. Vuong’s older brother was
injured superficially, and required no further treatment. Vuong, however, suffered damage to the tendons and muscles in his leg that caused, over time, considerable contraction. Vuong began walking more and more on the outside edge of his foot, and his limp became more pronounced.

Vuong was first assessed in June 2001 at General Medical Assessment 01 with the Viet Nam Medical Project, referred for and received initial treatment. He underwent the first stage of tendon release shortly afterward, in time to heal before the beginning of the school year, and was again referred for further treatment following General Medical Assessment 02 in December 2001. He will be returning from the second surgery at Da Nang Orthopedic Center.