GALVESTON – Ariel Gonzalez Mejia, 15, might have difficulty pressing buttons on his camera, but when it comes to taking photos, he’s a natural.
He wouldn’t have known he enjoyed photography if he hadn’t been a patient at Shriners Children’s Texas in Galveston. While he was attending in-hospital school, he learned he had skills that could help him find a new career, which is critical for him.
Teachers Marja Sealey and Flor Mota said when Ariel first came to them, he had dropped out of school at 11 years old in his home country of Honduras and didn’t enjoy learning. But they discovered he was a talented artist and photographer.
“I said, ‘Oh, that’s cool. That could be a way for you to go back home and actually do something with that as a career because you’re not going to be harvesting coffee beans anymore,’” Mota said.
Ariel was working in a coffee field, living on about $10 a day, when he innocently picked up a cable in the field and it was a wire with electricity pulsing through.
The shock and burn after touching the electricity cost Ariel his left leg and resulted in limited use of his right arm. So, as just a young teen, he must now find a new way to provide for his family.
“The career paths that they were doing or that they had in mind are now not feasible,” Sealey explained about Shriners patients. “We’re wanting to try and maybe instill that spark for learning, but we’re also trying to get them to investigate different means or different areas that would excite them as potential career paths.”
This is why the teachers connected Ariel with the photographer on staff at Shriners, Joe.
Joe now spends some of Ariel’s classroom time teaching him the technical side of photography. The goal is for Ariel to get a job as a photographer when he goes home; something he could do despite his injuries and would hopefully pay the family’s bills.
“Then, also when we’re doing these activities, we’re helping to enhance his fine motor skills, which is something he’s working with in rehab, taking him outside. He now has his new prosthetic and so he’s having the opportunity to navigate outside in the environment. So, we try to help in all areas with the patient so that when they leave here, they’re the best equipped to return back home into their home environments, into their everyday lives as possible,” Sealey said.
Sealey and Mota recently created an exhibit that will be on display for all who visit Shriners in Galveston.
If you’re there, you just might recognize Ariel. He’s the one with a camera, wherever he goes.
The good news for Ariel is he will make it home to Honduras in the new year.
In the future, Shriners also works with foundations to continue providing funding for patients like Ariel to return to Galveston for routine visits.
As always, no patient at Shriners receives a bill. If you’d like to help contribute to their mission and patients like Ariel, click here.