15-month-old, Angel, was born with a tethered spinal cord, which can appear as a small tail protruding from his lower back. His mom, Maria, said it can be quite painful. “Whenever he tried to stand up, he screamed in pain,” she said with tears in her eyes. “And he cried when I moved the tail it as I changed his diaper."

Doctors said the prognosis for recovery without surgery was grim. “He told me that my child would not be able to walk as he gets older. He said he would lose movement in his legs and arms and the ability to move around.”

Angel’s dad, Marvin, feared for the worse for his son. “I imagined him in a wheelchair. I imagined the other children playing and he could not.” But paying for the expensive operation to repair the condition was out of reach for the young family. “I remem

See Full Page