Seven-year-old Noe was playing soccer with his friends when he noticed something didn’t feel right. He struggled to catch his breath, and his legs were shaking. While his father watched from the sidelines, little Noe fell to the ground.
"When he collapsed, I ran as fast as I could to hold my son,” says Josue, Noe’s father. “I rushed him to the public hospital. Noe woke up and was discharged — I took him back home with a feeling that something was not OK with him."
In the following weeks, Noe developed more complications, losing mobility in his left arm and leg. He needed urgent medical care and testing, but no one could help him — COVID-19 cases had inundated the local public hospitals. With no hospital capacity, he was put on a waitlist for an appointment.
When the Compassion center staff heard of Noe's situation, they immediately arranged to have him taken to a private hospital.
"We had no choice but to rush Noe outside the community to a private hospital," says Rosalba, director of the center that Noe attends. "Though we faced traveling restrictions because of COVID-19, we did not give up and found a way for Noe to get the medical attention he needed."
After the doctors assessed him and ran several tests, Noe was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. His symptoms grew, including blurry vision and difficulty in speaking.
"I have witnessed my son's health deteriorate in the last couple of months, and it has been hard to face. But regardless of cerebral palsy, the disease has not removed Noe's smile. He's still Noe, and when he's playing with his siblings, the three of them are a handful," says Josue.
The Compassion medical fund has paid for transportation to the hospital, a range of tests, X-rays, groceries and other essentials. Josue knows that the Compassion staff will walk alongside his family as they deal with Noe’s cerebral palsy. "Noe is a bright and special child to us," says Rosalba. "We hope he recovers mobility in his limbs. We love him so much."