DENNIS QUAID

The actor admits it takes a lot to make him cry but when he realised who the "bubbly teenager" was standing next to him he broke down.

Quaid first met Elka when she was just a 14-month-old baby fighting for life without an oesophagus in a filthy Honduras hospital crib.

Through his charity, the International Hospital For Children, the actor brought the child back to New Orleans, Louisiana, where an oesophagus was created out of part of Elka's stomach.

Soon after, the child was adopted by an American family and, despite his best efforts to keep in touch, Quaid missed out on little Elka's upbringing - until she showed up at a golf gala the actor organises to raise funds for his charity every year.

He tells Daily Variety, "They made it a surprise for me. They sort of ambushed me there onstage, and I just broke down like a baby."

Since getting involved with the International Hospital For Children 20 years ago (87), Quaid has quietly given many ill kids a healthy future - and his involvement came about thanks to a bout of the flu.

The actor was bed-ridden during the shooting of The Big Easy and he was so grateful for the care his doctor, Mayer Heiman, gave him, he asked how he could repay the medic.

The physician asked Quaid to help him with his nonprofit medical charity.

Source: WENN