If you only saw Betania Sanchez in a passport photo, you probably wouldn't remember her. The lovely smile on her medium brown face looks nice, but so does that of many other young ladies in the Caribbean. She is quiet and reserved, but that's not unusual either. What's so different?

Stand, bend down, and put your hands on your ankles. Try moving around. If you get tired after a few minutes, rest by putting them on your knees. Then imagine that you are 23, and that's the way it's been ever since you were a baby! See how long you can walk in that position. Not easy, is it?

At six months, Betania was diagnosed with polio. Despite the best efforts of those caring for her in La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the capital city of Santo Domingo, she was never able to stand and walk normally.

I first met her in 1998 when, as a non-medical person, I came with some visiting medical professionals to Betania's hometown. Despite the rain, scores of folks patiently lined up outside the small church where her father is the pastor and I helped monitor the door. Often they waited for hours to see a nurse or doctor, perhaps get a handful of pills, or maybe have a tooth pulled. Then I saw her as she waddled away, clutching her little bag of pills, and wearing that very pleasant but determined smile—and instantly her image was permanently frozen in my mind.

A year later, I returned to La Romana with a volunteer medical team from Maine. I told a pediatrician that I wanted to take him and an interpreter to see Betania. He carefully examined her and concluded that if brought to a major medical center in this country or Canada, she probably could be helped—despite the extensive neurological damage. Two other surgeons (on separate visits) gave similar views. When I asked the examining pediatrician if he could think of a better way of describing Betania's movements than simply "waddling like a duck," he said that was his call as well.

For most adults in the industrialized world, polio is only a distant memory—if that. If you can remember the days of bobby sox, record hops, Chubby Checker, and Elvis, you may remember when polio shots began. If not, polio may just be something you read about. Tragically, many illnesses and diseases that have been eliminated in the western world continue to devastate in the developing nations. In many places, intestinal worms afflict a majority of the population, and often half of their food intake is sucked up by parasites.

There are many other ailments that westerners have never known or have forgotten—but many other hundreds of millions of folks must face them daily. An American or Canadian youngster with neurological or orthopedic problems probably would be offered as much special educational assistance as possible.

In Betania's case, that wasn't available. Her mom did the best she could in providing home schooling, but it's estimated that Betania received only enough to reach a second or third grade reading level. Betania's intelligence seems normal. I keep Betania's picture handy. Although her back is permanently bent forward at more than a 45 degree level, I believe that God has a plan for her, and someday she may be able to stand up straighter and walk more normally.

An 18 year-old in another Dominican town had the cruel nickname of "horseboy" because he walked on his hands and feet like an animal. Then a visiting volunteer orthopedic specialist brought him to Florida for surgery and rehabilitation. CBS-TV's 60 Minutes did a feature story about him. The one in Life Magazine was entitled "When I Learn to Dance." He did that, and I pray that Betania will someday learn to dance for God too.