Gustavo is a three-year-old boy who lives in Guatemala with his parents and older brother. He enjoys playing soccer with his brother, watching dogs play in his front yard, and crawling after the chickens that roam through his home.
“Gustavo has epilepsy and, as a result, has had convulsions regularly since he was barely one-year-old,” our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq, tells us. “He is not on medication and his mother is currently afraid to leave the house with him because she fears he will have a convulsion in public. There is no way that Gustavo’s family can afford the medication, physician visits, and labs he needs to keep his convulsions under control.”
“Without intervention, he will continue to have regular seizures which will affects his ability to physically grow and mentally develop,” Wuqu’ Kawoq continues. “It is common to see children with epilepsy not seek an education out of fear of having a seizure in front of their classmates and out of the safety of their parent’s watchful eyes.”
$745 will fund medication and regular counseling for Gustavo to treat and manage his convulsions. “He will undergo a lab work-up to rule out any other possible conditions he may have,” says Wuqu’ Kawoq. “Best of all, Gustavo will have access to a more full life. His mother will not have to live in fear of her child having a seizure and, as a result, Gustavo will be freer to play with other kids, eventually attend school, and just be a kid.”
“I just want my son to grow well and go to school to become a professional, perhaps a doctor,” shares Gustavo’s mother.
