Martinez, Rolondo Jay

Born with a cleft palate; recurrent ear infections at age 2 caused partial deafness when botched surgery cut a nerve, also paralyzing half his face. Attended the (hearing) Indian school near Bloomfield, NM, then Mesa Alta Junior High School after receiving hearing aids. Coped with a stepfather who physically abused his mother for years, then a social worker placed him in a Navajo child haven. He also finally received oral surgery for his cleft palate, and went to live with a foster family in Colorado while completing high school there; hoped to become a teacher.