He was knocked down and left for dead three months ago in a hit and run accident on the Western Highway. Today, three months later, the teenaged boy you are about to meet has made a miraculous recovery. But while he's back from the brink, he still has a profound problem: he doesn't know who he is. And that's where you come in. Keith Swift reports on the boy who just wants his family for Christmas.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This fifteen-year-old boy doesn't know his name, he isn't sure where he is from or who his family is, in fact we don't even know if he is really fifteen years old. I tried to get some answers from him today.
KS: What is your name?
Boy: Wilfred Dixon
KS: Do you know how you ended up in the hospital?
Boy: No.
KS: What is your mom's name?
Boy: Rosita
KS: And your dad?
Boy: Rolando.
KS: What is their last name?
Boy: I don't know.
KS: Where you going to school?
Boy: I was going to school yes.
KS: When is your birthday?
Boy: 14th of January
KS: What year?
Boy: January...15th January.
That is about all we were able to get from the boy they call "Corozal." He has been living here at the KHMH since September 20th. He arrived with massive head and body injuries and was in a coma for six weeks until recently when he woke up and asked for food. "Corozal" has since been under the care of nurses at the KHMH and he is slowly regaining control of his limbs. He can now move both his hands, he is talking more, and he is even able to walk. Neurosurgeon at the KHMH Dr. Joel Cervantes says it's a miracle the boy even woke up.
Dr. Joel Cervantes, Neurosurgeon
"We considered him a grade three head trauma which is a very serious injury as such. His condition outright was very frightful at the beginning because there was nothing that we could offer surgery for, just medical treatment and the patient was in a vegetative state for most of the time, for a month and a half approximately. His case is a big surprise and if we can use the word miraculous, I think this young man is a case of, in a certain sense, a miracle because from a neurological standpoint, a scientific standpoint, we do not have an explanation for his betterment as such. We applied the standard treatment that you give here in Belize, and the international level, and he was not responding for the first six weeks and then one day he wakes up on his own accord and then asks us for food and that was very surprising we don't have an explanation outright for that."
Keith Swift,
Is it possible that with rime he is going to regain more of his memory?
Dr. Joel Cervantes,
We should think so because the first factor is that he's young. He is young and day by day is getting stronger and we're seeing here on a day to day basis when you talk to him the things are more logical as he comes along and speak to you. And also the strength in his body come back bit by bit, he's regaining his strength."
And as he recovers - he is asking for one more miracle and that is that he needs to find out who he is, where he is from, and if he has a family.
KS: Do you want to find your family?
Boy: Yes.
The boy did tell us he is from Santa Rita Village in the Corozal District. Police say they have tried to search for his family in Corozal but they haven't had any luck. Anyone who knows who the young man is asked to contact the nearest police station in person or by calling 911 or 0-800-922-TIPS.
