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.