Paralysed Teen Needs Help to go to Mexico for Surgery

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help send 16-year-old Orell Reyes of Pomona Village to Mérida, Mexico, for specialised spinal surgery after he was shot and left paralysed from the waist down earlier this month.

The fundraiser, titled “Stand with Orell: A Chance to Walk Again,” was started by Whitney Geenen, who said she set it up on behalf of the family of her housekeeper. As of the latest update, it had raised $2,176 of a $15,000 goal from 18 donors.

Reyes was shot earlier this month after leaving football practice, when he stopped to buy a soda for his friends. Gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire, striking him and several others. The bullet remains lodged in his spine, leaving him paralysed.

According to the fundraiser, Reyes has since suffered serious complications, including infections and recurring high fevers, as his family struggles to access adequate care. Doctors say his best option is specialised evaluation and possible surgery in Mérida, Mexico, to assess removing the bullet, treatment that is not safely available in Belize.

“From my waist to my foot, dead, dead, dead, pops. I can’t feel nothing,” Reyes told News 5 from his hospital bed. “I just want a little help to go outside so they can take out this bullet out of my back. I tired of laying on my back.”

Police have not identified a motive for the shooting and say Reyes was not believed to be the intended target. No arrests have been reported.

You Contribute Here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-orell-a-chance-to-walk-again