Ten-year-old Sara is in fifth grade, where her favorite subject is math. “I dream that I will be a math teacher one day,” she shares. In her free time, Sara likes to play soccer with her brothers. Her family lives in Guatemala in a small adobe house.
Sara has epilepsy. She started getting seizures when she was just five years old, and they have gotten progressively worse since then. Her seizures last up to four hours, making it difficult for her to study, play, and be a normal little girl. Her family is worried about her, so she can never be left alone, making it difficult for her mother to work and run errands.
In order to clarify her condition and identify the cause of her seizures, Sara needs to undergo a series of diagnostic tests, including an MRI. She also needs anti-epileptic medications to reduce her seizures. But her family cannot afford these much-needed measures, as they currently struggle just to make ends meet. Her father is a day laborer in coffee plantations, and does odd-jobs when coffee is not in season, while her mother manages the household and takes care of Sara.
But for $967, we can fund the medications and diagnostic tests that Sara so urgently needs. Her seizures will improve, allowing her to go to school every day without the fear of having a seizure, and she will be able to become more independent.
“We hope that one day Sara will be able to live a normal life without the seizures she has been suffering from,” Sara’s parents told us.
