Rota Gaming Commission Vice Chair Mateo Santos, second from right, thanks an 82-year-old Korean patient, left, for offering her own ankle implant, as a surgeon and hospital staff look on. At right is Kang Dong Orthopedic Hospital International Healthcare Director Shon Park.
Contributed photo
ROTA Gaming Commission Vice Chair Mateo A. Santos was awed by the kindness of an 82-year-old South Korean woman who offered him her own ankle implant at Kang Dong Orthopedic Hospital in Busan, South Korea last month.
Santos, who had been on a medical referral, told Variety he was overwhelmed by the hospital’s hospitality, care and generosity.
In an email interview, Santos said he had been suffering from severe pain in his right ankle for nearly two years. Medications had proven ineffective, so he sought a second opinion at Guam Memorial Hospital, where doctors told him that ankle replacement was his only option to walk normally again.
He then contacted Kang Dong Hospital, where International Healthcare Director Shon Park scheduled his appointment for Aug. 28, 2025. After undergoing MRI and CT scans, Park and KDH President Shin-Hyeok Kang confirmed that Santos required an ankle replacement.
According to Park, ankle implants are rare. While KDH uses high-quality implants imported from the U.S., shipment delays can occur. At the time, the only available artificial implant was assigned to an 82-year-old female patient who had been scheduled for the same procedure a day before Santos’ appointment.
To everyone’s surprise, Santos said, the elderly patient, noticing his discomfort, relinquished her assigned prosthesis so that he could undergo surgery first. Park noted that this allowed the hospital to perform the surgery in a timely manner, preventing further complications.
After the successful procedure, Santos stayed at KDH for two weeks, completed physical therapy, and recovered fully.
On Sept. 8, 2025, Santos visited the patient in her hospital ward, thanked her and wished her luck on her own surgery. He also invited her to visit the CNMI, to which she responded that she was happy to hear about his successful surgery.
“Before and after the surgery, I was really overwhelmed by the hospitality of the KDH staff and that I would soon return home with great gratitude and appreciation,” Santos said.
