Iker, the six-year-old boy from Guargacho who suffers from neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic disorder that causes the appearance of tumors in the nervous tissue, will undergo next week a brain and spinal cord MRI at the University Hospital of La Candelaria, after the minor presented difficulties walking for two months, according to what his mother, Melissa Campos, told this newspaper.
“The boy drags his right leg and puts his foot out, but there are days he can’t even walk,” Melissa explained. The results of the resonance will be sent to the medical team of oncologists, neurologists and ophthalmologists at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Barcelona, a center specialized in this type of pathology, which has been in charge of treating the little Tenerife boy for a year. “The doctors in Barcelona will say what we have to do: if we have to operate or require another type of treatment,” said her mother.
Iker also suffers from hyperactivity, epilepsy, insomnia and a severe behavioral disorder that drives him to self-harm. When he gets angry, he hits his head on the ground and bites himself until he bleeds, an attitude that led his parents to postpone the appointment scheduled for last the 4th in Barcelona until September, waiting for an improvement, and which has forced him to his mother to quit her job as a telephone operator in a reservation center.
“Seeing your son so young hurting himself is very hard, it is very difficult for us to reassure him,” says Melissa, who, however, has seen progress in his evolution since a month ago he began with the classroom in code in Buzanada, along with five others. children, and a behavioral specialist from the Mi Lado Azul association in Adeje will start treating him. “Although he doesn’t like the changes, he is happy with the classes and the new therapy, and the truth is that he has improved his behavior; he still gets very angry, but afterwards he is the happiest child in the world”, confesses Melissa.
Iker’s case went around Spain after DIARIO DE AVISOS published a report in which his mother announced the sale of stone bracelets, made by her and the minor’s grandmother, at the price of three euros to raise funds with the in order to take the little boy to the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Barcelona for treatment.
The publication generated a great chain of solidarity throughout the country. In the following days, orders began to arrive from all over Spain, which led Melissa to order a thousand silicone bracelets, which were flown in a couple of days to different parts of the Peninsula and the Islands. Singers like Nando Agüero and Bambx, and comedians like JJ Vaquero joined the solidarity campaign with different videos in which they asked for help for Iker.
Charity show on May 6
The Infanta Leonor de Los Cristianos auditorium, in the municipality of Arona, will host the charity musical show on May 6 at 8:00 p.m. united for autism, together we are stronger. Tickets, priced at 11 euros, are already on sale at tomaticket.es. 90% of the proceeds will go to the South Autism Association, Mi Lado Azul, which will use it for therapies and summer camps.
Toni Santiago, the dance academy Dile que si and Renata Santos, among other participants, will take part in the show. The non-profit association Autismo Sur Mi Lado Azul aims to improve the quality of life of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
