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New Start for Jorge


Yesterday I took little Jorge A. to the doctor. It was the first time in his life he'd been in a real hospital. We had an appointment with the psychologist who only comes in two days per month. Jorge is an extremely active, happy child in Children of Promise, Paraguay. He is nine years old and is in the first grade, for the third year straight. The problem is that he just kicked out of school for his struggle to pay attention in class. In order to remain in the program, he has to be in school.

Immediately, the psychologist recognized that Jorge has ADHD. He needs medication to help his chemical imbalance. The psychologist explained that he needed to see a child neurologist in Argentina, since there are none in our state. He explained that it usually takes 4-6 months to get an appointment. Then, we would need to see a pediatrician here for regular control of his prescription and behavior observation.

I began to pray. This psychologist has no idea of the difficulty that would ensue in continuing his treatment. First, Jorge has no ID and cannot cross the border. His mom has 10 children and none of them have documents. Norma can't read and has never been able to fill out paperwork. Until we helped them buy a wood-burning stove two years ago, they had always cooked their food over an open-flame. Their home is in the middle of the bush. Since it rained heavily this week, I barely got our truck (2-wheel drive) close to their shack. I could go on and on about obstacles...but you get the idea.



I told the psychologist that logistically it would be extremely difficult for this child to meet with a neurologist in another country without documents. Also, they don't even ride a bus, they don't even leave their small town let alone endeavor to a new country! He talked with the pediatrician (who happens to be Timmy's pediatrician too) and they were willing to make an exception for Jorge! She wrote out an Rx and we got Jorge his first Retilin prescription.

So, what should have taken us months and months was solved in one morning! Thanks God for caring for Jorge and his success in school and thank you for his sponsor family. Please pray for little Jorge that the medicine takes affect, that God calms his heart and his hyperactivity and that he is accepted back into school. I'm writing a letter to his teacher to explain that he is in treatment and he should expect behavioral improvements. I hope and trust that his teacher will welcome back to the classroom and give him a new start. Something we all need at times.

If you have a desire to sponsor a child in need, contact Children of Promise. They'd love to connect you to a precious little one like Jorge.
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