Wilson lives with his family in a one-room adobe house with a tin roof in a rural Kaqchikel Maya community in Guatemala. He likes to play with his toy cars and go to church with his family on Sundays. He loves to eat chicken, eggs, and bread. His father works on a farm, where he cultivates corn and beans.
Three days after Wilson’s birth, he started to have seizures and a high fever. He had to be hospitalized, and doctors said that it caused permanent brain damage. He no longer has seizures, but he has had trouble reaching developmental milestones. He cannot walk or talk, but he can understand words and communicates with hand gestures to say ‘water’, ‘food’, ‘bread’, and ‘bye’.
With $386, Wilson can receive speech and physical therapy to further his developmental progress. This treatment will help Wilson gain increased movement in his limbs, making everyday activities easier. He will become more independent, lessening the burden on his family to assist him with everything and constantly watch over him. Not only will Wilson’s quality of life improve, but his family will be able to see him improve as well.
“The dream we have is that our son has some more movement in his body,” his parents shared. “We hope that at least he can be able to take a couple steps, be able to move, and do necessary tasks.”