Dilan's story

Dilan Castellano Quisaguano after his surgery with Tanya Atallah on the left

My name is Tanya Atallah and I am a student on week one of this year's CAMTA mission. I really wanted to do a story on one of the patients and after looking at the patient list, one just jumped out to me. I chose to do my story on a little 5 and a half year old named Dilan Ariel Catellano Quisaguano. The little guy and his condition hit close to home for me because tiny Dilan has Cerebral Palsy, a condition that my younger brother has, and even more, when my brother was just Dilan's age, he had a triple tendon release done, which is the same surgery that Dilan got done on Wednesday.

I was privileged to have Dr. Jarvis and Dr. Lawton let me actually go into the OR and watch the surgery. Before he was put under general anaesthesia, I held him in my arms while the OR nurses were prepping the OR and he was just so cuddly and soft. After seeing how the surgery was done and knowing that the little guy was going through the same thing that my brother went through, I knew I had to do a story on him.

Dilan can't talk or walk upright and expresses himself by making subtle sounds and gestures with his hands. Just by looking at him it is evident that he is an extremely bright boy and knows alot about what is going on around him. He is very small for his age and is about the size of a 2 year old. He lives with his mother, father, and siblings ( both boys, one is 9 years old and the other is 1 years and 8 months). They live just south of Quito, about 30 minutes away. His mother cannot work due to Dilan's condition and his father works in construction, helping put up cement walls. With her first child his mother had a normal pregnancy but due to a thin wall, she was unable to deliver her baby naturally and had to have a C-section. When she was pregnant with Dilan, she again had a normal pregnancy but this time went to a different hospital to deliver her baby but the doctors there wouldn't let her have a C-section even though she needed it, and she was in labour for 24 hours, which resulted in Dilan being asphyxiated. At about 3 months, his mother noticed Dilan's hands and legs growing abnormally and him not developing like her first child. She took him in where the local doctors diagnosed him with CP. After that she tried seeing many doctors, including Orthopedic surgeons and Neurologists but none of them would help her due to her low income.

She was referred to a social worker who told her about CAMTA and the great work they do here in Quito and she immediately knew she had to come and see if the doctors would be able to help her. She had finally saw a sign of hope but still in the back of her mind her worry about being denied just like every other time was haunting her. If she was to be denied, she planned on going about what she had been doing for years, saving pennies to try and get her son the care he needed, but she knew the chances of that happening where very slim. Nonetheless, clinic day came and she came in with Dilan, hopes high, and after meeting with the pediatricians, she was told the good news that Dilan was approved. She had to pay $20 for the surgery but that was next to nothing compared to the thousands of dollars the local doctors would have taken from her.

Dilan's surgery went very well and I checked up on him today and he is doing fabulous. He is in a bit of pain due to his double full leg casts that are covering the 8 incisions that had to be made, but is such a tough little guy that he's hanging in there. He loves to draw and scribble, which went perfectly with the markers and notebook that where included in the gift bags CAMTA prepared for their patients. My interview sheet actually has scribbles all over them due to him sneaking in his tiny arm every now and then.

His mother said that CAMTA is a blessing from God and she is extremely thankful for the help they have provided her son and it could not have been done without them.