Profile of Little Carlos

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Carlos’s full name is “Carlos Perezales.” His nickname is “Carlito.” He was born as the second child and eldest son of Patricia and Geraldo Perezales.

Carlos’s course of pregnancy went smooth. Nothing unusual to the fetus was reported. Patricia and Geraldo crossed the border to the United States to give birth to their second child, the advantage being ownership of American citizenship when born within the U.S.

On July 19, 1991, Carlos was born at Southwestern Hospital in El Paso. He was born a boy of 3,100 g (6.8 lbs.) and a height of 49 cm (19.3 inches). Geraldo did not notice any abnormalities with the Carlos’s body, other than his head perhaps being slightly large. However, the doctor in charge pointed out that that the area from the bottom of Carlos’s face to his neck was abnormally swollen, and informed Geraldo that this was a tumor. Geraldo became shaken with the fear that his son may carry cancer.

At Southwestern Hospital, there were neither facilities nor doctors of expertise that were able to treat or judge Carlos’s unusual condition. Within two and a half hours following birth, Carlos was transferred by an ambulance to Providence Memorial Hospital, also located in El Paso.

The doctor in charge of newborn babies at Providence Memorial Hospital was a son of a Mexican immigrant and was able to speak Spanish. A detailed description of Carlos’s condition was given at this time. The disease was lymphatic malformation. The lesions put heavy pressure on the trachea of the throat and made breathing difficult. To prevent suffocation, the lesions had to be surgically excised. They were told that there were two doctors who were able to handle such surgery. One was a military doctor, and the other practiced in Houston, Dr. Bloss in Texas Children’s Hospital. Houston was their choice.