One Determined Mother in Guatemala

Angel undergoing exam in U.S.

Angel with mother

He was shot through the face as he rode in the bed of a pickup truck, while winding through the mountains of rural Guatemala. The unresolved crime left Angel with a shattered jaw and teeth that were of no use. For two years he ate only soft foods or liquids, until his mother heard of Children of the Americas and our ability to bring medically fragile children to the states for donated care. Networking with Mayan Families created the opportunity for the surgical care that rebuilt Angel's jaw with a bone graft and skilled orthodontics gifts of care. His little Mayan mama never stopped working and worrying about her son. While he lived in Kentucky, graced with southern TLC and excellent medical care, his mother prayed and trusted and loved. When Angel returned home, she gifted some beautiful woven textiles to the COTA volunteers who had helped her son. 

When this beautiful Guatemalan baby was born with a severe cleft palate defect, his young mother realized that her only option for adequate surgical correction was to send her baby to the states...per embassy regulations, without her. Faced with this decision, trust in Children of the Americas and devotion to the well-being of her son took on a whole new meaning. While he was in foster care in Kentucky, she worried, prayed and sought support from her family. Her days were long and her nights were longer but the trust this mama showed was rewarded with a baby who was surgically corrected and nutritionally sound. 

Delmy and Ever, 2015

These short stories are part of a long history of Guatemalan mothers who have trusted COTA with the very thing they treasure the most; the life of their child. We have met strong mothers, emotional mothers and fiercely protective mothers. 
But we have not ever known a more determined mother than Delmy.
This seventeen year old young mother knew from the moment her son was born with an abdominal birth defect that he would need an advocate. Without a husband to stand at her side, this role fell to her and she embraced it well. 
In January of 2015 Delmy was told that COTA would try our best to find a surgical donation of care for her son, and that she should call our Guatemalan volunteer every two weeks for an update. 

Arriving in U.S.

 Which she did. 
 Every two weeks.
 For a year. 

It took twelve COTA volunteers, fifteen months of effort, two nonprofit organizations and hundreds of hours of effort but Delmy's determination and faith came to fruition on April of this year when this tiny family landed in St. Louis for their medical miracle our partner organization, World Pediatric Project. (http://www.worldpediatricproject.org/)

Delmy and her son are already scheduled for their return to Guatemala; the surgery went beautifully and Ever's future quality of life has increased beyond description. He will no longer need colostomy bags and that fact alone is life-changing. 
 

Delmy and Ever, post surgery, May 2016

Guatemala has many more mothers who need medical miracles for their children than we have resources for. It is expensive, both financially and in volunteer hours, to bring a child to the states for donated care. Is it worth the relentless effort, child after child after child? 
Ask Delmy. 

Ever, free from medical concerns