Kevin Diaz
Kevin Diaz was born into a family in the central part of Paraguay. He has 3 brothers
and a sister. He is the youngest at 14 years of age. The father, Ramon is a mason and
the mother a dressmaker. The father and mother's joint monthly income is 1,600,000
guaranies. That is the equivalent of $200 a month. They used all of their savings to help
Kevin with medications and an initial surgery when he was 5, just to keep him alive.
Kevin's diagnosis was tetrology of fallot, one of the most difficult of the congenital conditions to correct. He was operated at the Hospital de Clinicas in San Lorenzo, Paraguay by Dr. Jorge Jarolin and his team. His operation was a success and he should have a long life ahead of him. This surgery was made possible through the financial support of Dharma Trading Company.
His father, Ramon spoke to the social worker before the operation: "This sickness has
affected Kevin emotionally quite a bit. He does not want to go to school and does not
have friends. They diagnosed his problem when he was 2 months old and he had his
first surgery at 5 years of age. His skin would change color, be very tired and nervous.
We have been able to keep the disease at bay, but by becoming indebted. All of this
has had a great emotional effect on our family. We have had depression and a marked
emotional change in his mother. We are grateful to the person who donated the money
and may God bless him and each of the persons who formed part of the team that did the
operation."