Mill Creek family opens hearts to teen

Published 10:12 pm Thursday, December 10, 2009

MILL CREEK — The language barrier dissolved when the teenager smiled.

Abayneh Adafris was peddling around Thursday afternoon on a bike specially built for a double amputee. He lost both arms in Ethiopia, but that fact seemed briefly forgotten as the cold wind hit his face.

Carly and Traci Grant looked on. The daughter and mother said the process of aiding Abayneh hasn’t always been easy, but ultimately, it has offered its rewards — most notably, a new arm for Abayneh.

“You’ve got to stretch and love people,” Carly said.

Abayneh, 14, came to Mill Creek in mid-October, after the Grant family contacted the nonprofit group Healing the Children.

The Grant family saw a TV special on the group’s work with another disabled boy, Muhammed “Hamoody” Hussein, an Iraqi boy who was taken in by a Snohomish family.

Carly, 17, a senior at Cedar Park Christian School, felt called to act. She began hassling her mom and her dad, Vince, to fill out applications for the nonprofit group.

“The only thing I can think of is that God must have put it on my heart, that this is what we need to do,” Carly said.

The process took about seven months. Background checks were necessary. Eventually, the family was connected with Abayneh.

The boy was living with his impoverished family of six in Ethiopia. He was on a train when he was hit by a rock and fell off. His arms landed on the tracks, and the wheels severed them near his shoulder.

Abayneh clearly needed aid. Many stepped forward to provide it after his arrival in Washington.

Cornerstone Prosthetics of Everett donated the arm, which would have cost thousands to fit and mold.

The prosthetic connects to his right arm. He can open and close a hooklike hand by moving his shoulder back and forth.

The Washington State Elks Association offered physical therapy classes to help him master that task, while the Grant family also works with him at their home.

At times, he gets frustrated by the work. He would rather play video games or ride his new bike. He is, after all, a 14-year-old boy.

Traci Grant has devised some novel tasks to help him improve his abilities, though.

At one point, she gave him a bag of potato chips, a snack he loves. The fragile chips provided a unique challenge. Slowly, he was able to eat the snack.

Carly, who will go into the nursing program at the University of Washington next year, also tutors him. They work together almost nightly. The two bond over math, her favorite subject. She enjoys seeing his face light up when he hits upon a solution.

“He seems to be really happy,” she said. “It’s a level where it’s easy to talk to him and connect to him.”

Abayneh could return to Ethiopia as early as Dec. 21, although the Grant family said it’s more likely he’ll leave in January.

There, the prosthetic should continue to improve his life. He can feed himself again. He can go to the bathroom on his own.

“It’s made such a dramatic difference in the life he’s going to lead,” Traci said.

Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com