“Gabi is an only child and lives with her mother and father in a small house in Guatemala,” our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK) tells us. She is 17 months old and likes playing with her plastic doll.
“Gabi is suffering from malnutrition and diarrhea,” reports WK. Her mother worried there was a problem with Gabi’s health when she realized Gabi was not growing. However, the family couldn’t afford treatment with the money the parents make sewing blouses and working as farm laborers.
Because Gabi is not absorbing calories and nutrients as a result of the diarrhea, she will likely continue to be sick and begin to miss developmental milestones. Without the strength provided by adequate nutrition, her body cannot fight the diarrhea. “This will put her at risk for the long term effects of malnutrition as well as dehydration and a weakened immune system,” explains WK. If there is no intervention, it will have serious consequences for Gabi’s physical and mental development.
$535 will help Gabi get treatment and recover her health. “This treatment will provide Gabi with micronutrient and food supplementation as well as medication to stop her parasitic infection causing her diarrhea,” WK tells us. With this treatment, doctors anticipate that she will begin to recover some of the growth that she has lost as a result of the diarrhea and her immune system will begin to improve.
As part of the treatment plan, Gabi’s mother will receive nutritional education to ensure her health in the long term. This will give her all the tools she needs to feel confident in providing for her daughter, and passing on healthy nutritional habits for Gabi to follow in the future.
Gabi and her family are excited for how the treatment will help. “It is so amazing that you are going to help my child to grow,” shares her mother.