UPDATE

December 3, 2009: After being evaluated by two renowned pediatric orthopedic surgeons in Miami, it has been determined that Jesus would not be a good candidate for prosthetics at this time. Because of the lack of muscle strength in his thighs, Jesus would only be comfortable wearing the prosthetics for short periods of time. It did not seem worth putting him through the extreme surgeries, followed by a long recovery and rehabilitation period, for such a poor outcome. We would like to see Jesus return for further evaluation when he is more mature and the new state-of-the art prosthetics being developed by Walter Reed Army Hospital are available to the public.

This remarkable 10-year-old took the news with amazing optimism and will continue to play soccer in Barranquilla. He enjoyed his visit to the United States and is going home with an electric wheelchair and other gifts donated by generous and caring friends of International Kids Fund and Child Foundation Charity.