Victor is 16 years old, and lives with his parents and four siblings in a rural community in the mountains of Guatemala. His father suffers from End Stage Renal Disease and is too weak to work. This means that Victor’s family is dependent on him to work, but with his vision nearly non-existent, he has had a hard time working as a shoe polisher. His mother works weaving traditional Mayan textiles, which she sells to other women in the community. Although his mother works hard, they barely have enough money to pay for food for the family, making a complex and expensive surgery impossible for them to afford.
Victor has previously received funding for his care for a congenital deformity. He has since recovered, but complications from a rare genetic disorder means that he still has several problems that require treatment. Our medical team suspects that he has Marfan’s Syndrome, which is known to affect the eyes and cause cataracts. He has had vision problems since he was very young, but his family has never had the resources to take him to a doctor–since few doctors in rural areas are equipped to evaluate and treat eye disorders. Now, at 16, he is nearly blind and has had to stop going to school.
This treatment will change not only Victor’s life, but allow him to work and provide for his siblings and ailing father. He will receive a complex surgery to fix his cataracts, along with transportation to and from he hospital, lodging for him and his family near the hospital while he recovers, and all follow-up treatment.
Victor shared: “I know the promise that I have made for my family, and that is why I want to see well so I can work and continue in school. It’s very important.”