Mario Arguijo
Mario Arguijo is a 5 year old boy living in the community of Tomatin. Although both the Water and Microfinance programs have worked in Tomatin, Medical Brigades did not come to the community until
recently. While surveying houses for future projects, our Director of Community Development, Raul Gutierrez, came across Mario. He is an energetic 5 year old boy who suffers from a type of cerebral paralysis that inhibits use of and control over his legs. He has no feeling in his legs and cannot walk or sit up properly. When Raul saw Mario for the first time, he saw the need to open up a referral case for this patient.
Mario is the son of Irma Piñeda and Francisco Arguijo, and the youngest of three children. Mario is not yet able to attend school, although his two older siblings are in school. Their eldest child is currently in high school, which puts extra financial strain on the family since school beyond 6th grade is often costly since families typically have to send their children away to attend high school and pay for separate food, lodging and transportation costs, as well as the cost of books, supplies, uniforms etc. Their father is the only one who is able to work outside of the home and works in agriculture cultivating mostly beans and corn.
The family has sought medical attention for Mario before, but they ultimately were not able to get any care. They traveled from their community by bus to the public hospital, Hospital Escuela, in Tegucigalpa,
almost half a day's trip via public transit. When they finally got to see someone, they were referred to a specialist and were not able to get any care that day. They had to return and wait until their referral appointment was scheduled. When the date finally arrived, Irma had come down with dengue fever and they were not able to travel for Tegucigalpa for the appointment. When they tried to go back once she was better, they were told that they had lost the appointment and could not see the specialist. Since then, they have not sought medical attention again.
Another organization had contacted Mario's family and Mario recieved a wheelchair as a donation from this organization!
For any questions or to find out how to get more involved, contact Grace Goryoka at grace.goryoka@globalbrigades.org