Alex is a six-year-old boy from Guatemala who started to have seizures two years ago. Since then, he has had a seizure almost every day, lasting for a couple of minutes. He also is unable to talk or move his left arm. His doctors believe that his seizures are likely caused by a stroke that he had in-utero. Alex had brain surgery when he was only a few hours old to remove the resulting clot and the part of his brain tissue that had died due to lack of blood flow. In order to be sure that this caused Alex’s seizures, his doctors need to perform an MRI. This will provide a clearer diagnosis and a better idea of how much Alex’s life will be affected by the complications he had as a baby.
Alex lives with his family in an adobe house with a tin roof. His mother cooks and cleans for the family, as well as takes care of Alex, which is a full-time job. His father works doing odd jobs, never having a steady income. This means that paying for the medications and work-up Alex needs is out of reach for them.
$1,044 will give Alex an MRI and full diagnostic workup. This will allow his medical team to understand the cause of his seizures and the extent of the damage caused to his brain from his stroke. They will also design a treatment plan to help reduce the number of seizures Alex has and improve his quality of life.