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By Sister Eva Lallo

Casa Corazón de la Misericordia, a ministry sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, is an orphanage for children and teens living with HIV/AIDS in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

When Victor came to Casa Corazón, his legs were malformed. The doctors said that at birth he had a stroke which affected his legs, possibly due to the fact that he was born with HIV.

As he grew he tried to walk and even run, always on his toes. Eventually it became so difficult that he had to hang on to things in order to walk or even stand without falling. He valiantly tried to keep up with the other kids at Casa Corazón, but eventually he became confined to a wheelchair, where it seemed he would spend the rest of his life.

We finally found a surgeon wiling to perform the special surgery that would straighten Victor’s legs so that he could walk freely and upright. Thanks to an anonymous donor, we were able to pay for the operation.

We are so happy to say that Victor is out of his wheelchair, walking tentatively, his legs straight and feet firmly planted on the floor.

We here at Casa—Sisters of Mercy, staff and the other kids—are Victor’s only family. His mom and dad are gone, and we are not aware of any extended family. But Victor is a fighter! Having lived thus far through the stress of being HIV positive, he is now determined to walk again.

His next challenge is to run and to play football, the favorite sport in Honduras, with the other kids at Casa Corazón. (Here in the United States we call the sport soccer!)

Learn more about Casa Corazón.