BALBOA PARK: African explosion victim to visit SD Zoo

(CNS) – A 20-year-old man whose jaw, teeth and tongue were obliterated in an explosion five years ago in his native Zimbabwe is scheduled to visit the San Diego Zoo Thursday — two days before he begins a series of reconstructive surgeries at Sharp Memorial Hospital.

Blessing Makwera was 15 years old when he stuck a cell phone battery in his mouth and it exploded, according to a profile in an episode of the television program “Inside Africa” on the Cable News Network.

An organization called Operation of Hope has partnered with Sharp Healthcare to provide three surgeries over the next six months that Makwera hopes will allow him to speak, chew and swallow more easily.

A surgical team led by physicians Joel Berger and Thomas Vecchione will perform the operations, according to Sharp Healthcare.