Junior Reporter Jesus and his story…
A gripping story of inner strength and will. A life lesson by a little child. He came to Greece and was able to change everything with his smile. This is the story of Jesus. Who eventually interviewed Dimitris Pelkas.
Jesus is 8 years old. He came from Bulgaria to Thessaloniki in 2013 with his parents and his three step-siblings. Little Jesus was born with a «GOLLOP-WOLFGANG» complex. It’s a very rare malformation characterized by ectrodactyly of the hand, ipsilateral bifurcation of the femur and tibia agenesis.
He started attending a Greek school and, in May 2014, he underwent surgery. Both legs were amputated from the knees down, in order to receive prosthetic calves.
Given his age, Jesus was made suddenly aware of the situation he was thrown in, without the proper psychological preparation. After surgery, he was crying and asking for his legs. From that moment on, getting back on his feet and being able to play football became a life mission.
PAOK helped in that mission, by donating the gate income from their home encounter against FC Olimpik Donetsk. Thessaloniki vice-Prefect Voula Patoulidou, President of SEEDA (the association of athletes of acknowledged excellence) Rabea Iatridou and CRC-Chronopoulos Rehabilitation Centre all contributed to Jesus’s recovery.
Apart from his battle to stand on his feet again, Jesus is doing a remarkable job at school. Within a year, he learned to speak and read Greek. He has come a long way since his first days in school, when he could only say “hi mate” in Greek!
This little fighter hasn’t missed any Toumba match since February 2017, enjoying his favourite team. He sports the logo of PAOK on his prosthetic legs as well…
Watch the special interview conceded by Dimitris Pelkas to Jesus and log in the club’s official YouTube channel to get our team’s latest news with picture and sound.
Snapchat: User name: paokfootball
PAOK FC Official App: Play Store / App Store
