Eighteen-year old Juan Castro lives in Joyabaj, Quiché. He was born with cleft spine, and because of that, he has never been able to walk. Once a month, a family member would pull him on a plastic tricycle so that he could learn a little bit about the world outside the walls of his house.
As years passed, he began to suffer from serious infections, and his ankle joints were completely destroyed from dragging his feet on the ground whenever he attempted to move himself or when he rode on the tricycle. After several evaluations conducted by HELPS' team of medics specializing in Orthopedics and Prosthetics, it was confirmed that the infections were endangering his life, and that, unless he underwent a drastic surgery, he would never be able to walk.
Dr. Brandon Freeman, a well-experienced plastic surgeon, and Robert Dirksen, a prosthetic specialist, both worked together to amputate Juan's legs in a way that would allow them to attach prosthetic replacements. Because of this, Juan has a great chance of being able to walk in the near future.
HELPS' technical team gathered leftover materials and used them to build Juan a small cart so that he would have a better option for transportation. Robert Dirksen and his team of specialists will arrive in Guatemala on November 21 to give Juan his prosthetic legs and teach him how to use them. The hope is that Juan would have an opportunity to live a normal life and be able to attend school. He is a very intelligent and motivated young man who learned to read and write on his own, and he has a great desire to continue studying and have a better future.
Helps International
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