Page 32 - LIfesOuttakes5

Dr. Waddoups was shocked. “You want him fixed?” “Yes,” the old woman said. “He’s broken.” He realized that by “fixed” they meant healed. The woman went on to say that they had put Cholo to sleep a week earlier. Dr. Waddoups was concerned that he had done it and something had gone wrong. But the family assured him that was not the case. This time the mother, in broken English, began to explain. “A week ago, Cholo ran into the road and was hit by a car. It didn’t kill him, but he was badly hurt. His eyeball was popped out and his skull was fractured. We could see his brain! We knew he could not live, and so my husband’s friend took him into the desert and put him to sleep.” Dr. Waddoups asked, “How did he put him to sleep?” She answered that he had shot Cholo five times. Dr. Waddoups commented, “He must not have been a very good shot.” “Oh no,” came the reply, “Cholo was dead, and 26