*Feb 2011*
* December 3, 2010 Update *We have received a donation for four months of Tereso's medications! Thank you so much for your support. To make an additional contribution towards Tereso's medicine needs, which cost $25/month, please click here and enter "Elderly Care, Tereso medicine" in the Other box.
Tereso's doctor also recommended that Tereso begin physical therapy sessions in order to recover use of the body parts he lost partial access to after his stroke. Each physical therapy session for Tereso would cost just $5, including transportation. We would love to get him started--One or two sessions a week would be ideal. To make a monthly contribution towards Tereso's physical therapy needs, please click here and enter "Elderly Care, Tereso physical therapy" in the Other Program section. From Tereso and Mayan Families, thank you so much!
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* November 26, 2010 Update *
Tereso is about to run out of the new medication that has helped him so much.
Tereso has had recently enjoyed huge improvments to his life--a comfortable new bed, and a visit to a good doctor who prescribed him medicine that has helped him tremendously. As you can see in the photo, Tereso looks like a new man! He is stronger and happier with his new medicines, and his symptoms are finally under control.
Tereso is looking better than ever now that he
is on medication! Unfortunately, however, it is
going to run out this week, and so his
convulsions and dizzy spells will likely return.
But in less than a week Tereso will run out of the medicine that has made such a great difference for him. Unfortunately we do not have the funds to buy Tereso these anticonvulsion, pro-circulation, and pain medicines that he relies on--They cost $25 a month.
Without his medicine, Tereso suffers from convulsions, dizzy spells, and severe headaches. Often the symptoms are so bad that Tereso cannot walk or even get off his chair, and sometimes the dizzy spells are so intense that he just falls off of his chair from seated position. His inability to function normally when he is off of medicination also distresses Tereso emotionally.
Please help us prevent Tereso from going back to an unhealthy, painful state. To support Tereso's medical needs with a monthly donation, please click here and enter "Elderly Care, Tereso" under Other Program. Any amount donation would be a great help. To make a one-time donation towards Tereso's medical needs, please click here and enter "Elderly Care, Tereso" in the Other section. Thank you so much.
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| Tereso receiving some sock donations, and laughing as he struggles to untangle them! |
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*November 12, 2010 Update*
We just delivered Tereso's new bed and mattress! He is so happy and grateful.
This is such a great comfort for Tereso. He and Mayan Families send out their deepest thanks to his supporters.
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*October 28, 2010 Update*
We have gotten a donation to buy Tereso a bed and mattress, as well as 2 blankets and 2 months of his medications!
Tereso had such a wide smile when he heard the news! We'll be delivering the bed, mattress, and blankets on Friday, November 12th. Thank you so very much for your support. We'll be sure to take photos on the big day.
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Meet Tereso Cojon
Tereso Cojón will be 73 on October 15th. He has four grown children and 19 grandchildren. Recently, after it became evident that Tereso was too feeble to live independently in the (empty, bare, and waterless) cinderblock home that he owned, Tereso moved to live in a house with several of his children and grandchildren. Though his children help him as much as they can, they are all struggling to feed their own families, so their support is limited to hosting him and sometimes bringing him a little bit to eat.
Tereso never went to school, so he cannot read or write, and he speaks very little Spanish (he speaks Kakchiquel). A stroke four years ago left him without much use of his left arm and knee and suffering from “bad nerves,” making it very difficult for him to work and provide for himself.
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| Receiving a warm lunch from Mayan Families |
Since the stroke, Tereso tried repeatedly to seek medical treatment for his conditions, which include knee pain and arthritis, chronic headaches, shaking, and dangerous dizzy spells. For years, he suffered visibly--from the physical pain and, even worse, from the sorrow he felt in being unable to function normally because of his dizziness and convulsions. However, doctors at the local clinic constantly turned him away, saying that they cannot help these symptoms of aging.
Tereso was so grateful when Mayan Families staff took him to see a private doctor last Saturday (10/16) and Tuesday (10/19). The doctor prescribed for him the anti-convulsion and pain medicines and he suffered so terribly without, and Tereso has been doing remarkably better with the medicine. (*For details on his medication, see the bottom of this post.) Every day since he started taking his medicines, Tereso has been greeting us with a wide smile and repeated thanks. It has brought us a great amount of joy to see the change in him.
We have bought Tereso approximately a month's supply of medicine for $15, but we are going to need help once the month's medicine runs out. Unfortunately, without our help (since he cannot work, and since his family cannot sufficiently support him), Tereso will not be able to afford the medicine that he badly needs. Your support would make a wonderful impact on Tereso's quality of life by helping to afford him the medicine that he suffers so badly without. To sponsor Tereso with a monthly donation, please click here and enter "Elderly Care, Tereso" under Other Program.
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| Tereso by his current bed, covered by a blanket donated by Mayan Families |
Tereso currently has a low bed with a very old, uncomfortable spring mattress unsuitable for a person of his age and condition. Because of his bad knees and dizzy spells, it is difficult and dangerous for Tereso to get in and out of this low bed. A wonderful one-time gift for him would be a single bed and mattress, which costs $170. To give Tereso the gift of a new bed, please click here and enter "Elderly Care, Tereso's bed" in the Other box. Thank you so much!
* Tereso has been prescribed 80mg daily of Ginbilam (Ginkgo Biloba) and Meloxican for pain.
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