Martha
Anahí
Martha Anahi
Arce Leree was
born on July 29, 1998. She is now 12 years
old. She is the daughter or Ramon
Arce Arce and
Gloria Leree Arce. She has 2 brothe
rs,
Ivan and Jorge. The family lives in the Sierra de San Francisco in Baja
California
Sur at Rancho Guadalupe. This range
contains
one
of the greatest collections of pre-historic
rock art
in the world. Her father occasionally works as a guide taking visitors
to the rock art sites. During the rest of the year, he tends goats and
some
cattle. The mountain range is extremely
beautiful
but
very rugged. The area
regularly suffers from droughts lasting up to 5 years.
Life is difficult but the mountain people
persevere. They are as Harry Crosby
said, The last of the Californios determined to doing the best they can
to
provide for their families.
We
first
met Martha; she could not hear or talk.
She was about 4 years old. She
suffered from a severe head infection that had to be treated with
antibiotics. She was then fitted with
hearing aids. She is now in school
albeit a little behind the other children.
She can now hear and talk. A number of individuals and groups
have helped
Martha over the years supplying her with new hearing aids and batteries. While being treated for her hearing, it was
also
discovered that she had a heart murmur.
This turned out to be an opening between the left and right
upper chambers
of her heart known as an Atrial Septal Defect. She was monitored for
some time
in hope that the opening would close naturally.
Surgery was done successfully on June 10,
2005 by a team of doctors at Centro Medico Del Prado in Tijuana. The team was led by Dr. Abraham Rothman along
with Dra. Patricia Aubanel and Dra. Azucena Murillo.
Her
family
has
had its share of difficulties. The oldest son,
Ivan has suffered from symptoms originally believed to be similar to
Guillan-Barre. This is neurological disease. Ivan was very bright and
going to
school but still walked with a very stilted style due to serious ankle
problems. He has been receiving some treatments in La Paz for this. An effort was made to get him seen by the
Shriners in Tijuana. They accepted him
for surgery. There were a number of
problems with his paperwork that delayed him getting a passport and
visa. Finally with the help of other
charitable
organizations, he finally made it to the Shriners Hospital in Los
Angeles. Our thanks go out to Amigos
de Los
Californios who helped Ivan clear the final hurdle.
His surgery was successful and he walking
virtually normally. He participates in
sports and is now going to school in San Ignacio.
Martha’s
other
brother,
Jorge is autistic. The boy seems alert
and seems to understand some of the parent's signals and instructions.
There
are limited opportunities in Baja California Sur to help him. He is
already 13
years old. The stress or taking care of all 3 children with problems
would be
enough to tax any family especially one in an isolated area such as the
Sierra
de San Francisco. They have survived
and beaten the odds. Both Ivan and Martha can look forward to happy and
productive lives. Commitment is happy to have been able to help.
Return
to Homepage
