Wuqu’ Kawoq

Guatemala

DARSA Centro de Diagnosticos

Patients at DARSA Centro de Diagnosticos

Sergio is a 13-year-old boy who lives with his parents, two older sisters and little brother in a one-room adobe house with a tin roof in a rural community in the mountains of Guatemala. Sergio loves to play with his cousins, eat fried chicken, watermelon, and refried beans, and watch TV at his cousin's house. His family has few resources, and have struggled to pay for Sergio and his sisters to go to school. His parents are worried that they won't have the resources to pay for Sergio to repeat first grade, since he has had to miss a significant amount of school because of his condition. Sergio has been having seizures for about six months. Lately, they have been getting worse-- sometimes he loses consciousness for a couple hours after he has a seizure. Although his cognition and memory are normal, he sometimes drops things without realizing it. He feels like his hands are weak, and that things weigh a lot, or his hands shake. His mother is worried that he won't be able to continue school if his seizures continue. For $967, Sergio will receive a full diagnostic work-up, including labs, an MRI, and consultation with our physicians to determine the cause of his seizures. Then, our medical team will be able to develop a personalized treatment plan to reduce the frequency and length of his seizures. This will allow Sergio to be able to attend school normally, and give his parents peace of mind knowing that he won't be as likely to have seizures at school or when he's playing with his friends. "I want to be cured so that in the future I can be a professional and serve my community," shares Sergio.

$967raised
Fully funded

Elvis, an 18-year-old boy from Guatemala, started to get seizures when he was eight years old. Now he gets about one seizure every week, and they are often severe--he has had to be hospitalized following many of his seizures. He has not been able to study because of his mother's fear of him having a seizure during class, and also because his mother cannot afford to pay for both his treatment and his education, forcing her to choose to pay for his medications. Elvis is the youngest of three children. He was raised by a single mother who is incredibly hard working and strong, and who wakes up at dawn every morning to wash the neighbors' clothes, helping her to earn a few dollars per day. Elvis and his mother have tried to seek out treatment in Guatemala City, but since they live in a rural, mountainous community that is far away from the city, they have not been able to afford to continue traveling several hours for each appointment, and have run out of money to pay for medications. Elvis loves to sing along to Christian ballads on the radio, and his faith has helped him stay strong through his health problems. For $967, treatment will be possible for Elvis. This treatment will give him access to the medications he needs to get his seizures under control. He will undergo comprehensive diagnostic work to determine the cause of his seizures and see if he has any other related conditions. His mother will not have to live in fear of her son having a seizure, and she will no longer have to choose between sending him to school and paying for treatment. This will give Elvis the chance to be a normal teenager, go back to school, and his mother will be able to feel secure that his condition is more stable. "I want my son to stop suffering. Every time he has a seizure he suffers, and I suffer with him. I want him to study and become a great professional," shares Elvis's mother.

$967raised
Fully funded

Two years ago, 15-year-old Elmer started to have convulsions when he was in school. The first time he had a seizure he was unconscious for five seconds, but now he is unconscious for much longer, and he often loses his memory. He gets seizures two to three times per month. His family is sad because Elmer has only studied through elementary school. He had to leave school two years ago because of his condition--the school refused to have him attend the school for fear that he could get worse at any time and they would not know what to do. Elmer loves to eat fried chicken and on weekends go out and play soccer with his three brothers. Elmer works alongside his dad in the fields, cultivating and harvesting beans, squash, and potato to sell. His mother weaves traditional Maya textiles which she sells in the market. His family has a hard time because someone always has to be with Elmer to make sure he is not alone if he has a seizure. Although he and his parents work hard, they do not have the resources to give Elmer the expensive labs and imaging he needs for his diagnosis and buy the medicines he needs to control his seizures. This treatment, which will cost $967, will give Elmer the chance to finally understand what is causing his seizures, following a comprehensive diagnostic workup. This will allow our medical team to prescribe him the medications he needs to control his seizures. This will allow him to return to school, be more independent, and help his parents and brothers not to feel so stressed.

$967raised
Fully funded

“Julio had his first seizure when he was 13,” explains our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK). “At first, he only had them once a month, then once every two weeks, then every week. Lately, he has been having seizures three times per day.” These epileptic seizures can be frightening for Julio, a 15-year-old from Guatemala. “When he has a convulsion, he falls, begins to shake, and his eyes roll in the back of his head,” reports WK. “It normally lasts fifteen minutes, and afterwards he is usually weak and dizzy.” These now-daily interruptions often force Julio’s mother to keep her son home from school so that she can care for him. This has substantially slowed Julio’s education: even though he is in his mid-teens, and seems to have no learning difficulties, he has only reached fifth grade. His mother has also had to quit her job so that she can stay home with Julio, putting the family in financial strain. Despite these setbacks, Julio is an outgoing, academically ambitious boy. “Julio loves to study and talk with his classmates,” says WK. “His favorite things to do are to play soccer, and practice math.” He dreams of becoming a teacher one day. Without intervention, though, that dream will be difficult to achieve. Fortunately, Julio’s doctors believe his epilepsy is not intractable. For $966 we can connect Julio with the combination of medications he’ll need to get his seizures under control. This cost will also pay for diagnostic lab tests and a brain MRI, so doctors can make sure they are treating him correctly. “This treatment will allow Julio to be much more independent, as he will be healthy enough to leave the house on his own,” WK tells us. This means that Julio will be able to aim high in his own education, and someday, to help others do the same by becoming a teacher.

$967raised
Fully funded

Mayda, a 10-year-old girl from Guatemala, is the fourth of seven children. "Mayda's father works as a farm hand, harvesting coffee on their neighbor's plantation," our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK), tells us. “Mayda’s mother cooks, cleans, takes care of the children, and helps harvest coffee.” Two years ago, Mayda underwent successful surgery for a heart murmur, which was funded by Watsi. Recently, she was also diagnosed with epilepsy. Mayda was doing well until last December. "She came home one day from school with a note from the school nurse saying that she had a seizure that lasted several minutes,” WK explains. “She had lost consciousness and did not remember anything. Since then she has had two more seizures at home." Because of these seizures and the resulting symptoms, Mayda has been unable to attend school. With $967, Mayda can receive the medical care and anticonvulsant medications that she requires for a healthier life. She will receive a brain MRI and other diagnostic workup for preliminary testing. She will also receive anti-epileptic medication to control her spastic episodes and to improve her mobility and independence. With treatment, “Mayda will gain control of her body,” WK continues. “This will increase her quality of life and put her on track to receive the education she deserves and live a healthy and productive life.” "We want her to grow well and be healthy,” Mayda’s parents share. “She has already been through so much with her surgery and now her seizures. We just want her to get better."

$967raised
Fully funded