"Whenever the team is down for any reason, he pumps them back up, everyone wants to work at the same level he's working at," Jorge’s assistant coach, Daniel Sanchez, told ABC News. "Jorge is not only a great teammate but a great friend, definitely a team player — what every coach wants."
When Jorge was just 14 months old, deadly bacteria made their way through his body, restricting circulation to his finger and toes. In order to save his life, doctors in his native country, Panama, were forced to amputate below his knees and elbows.
Following his life-saving operation, Jorge’s family in Panama was left with an enormous hospital bill and more to come if he was going to receive the prosthetic legs that he needed to walk. His family’s prayers were answered in the form of Healing the Children, a New Jersey-based non-profit that provides medical funding for children in impoverished countries.
Through Healing the Children, Jorge lived with his host family, John and Faye Dyksen, for nine months and then went back to Panama during the summer. As Jorge’s condition improved, so did his bond with the Dyksen family. In Sept. 2012, he was officially adopted by John and Faye.
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"We were all pretty nervous about it," Faye told ABC News. "When we went to the airport .... all the fears just went away. It was kind of like love at first sight."
Today, Jorge has just one more obstacle to get around: scoring his first goal. Sporting new prosthetic legs with silicone padding that takes the pain out of running, he is working harder than ever to achieve his goal.
"I just feel like a normal person because everyone treats me like it. I just keep going on and doing what I want to do," Jorge told ABC News. "I always tell people, 'Never give up.' Look, I have no arms and no feet and I can do everything without them. I can still kick a soccer ball, hit a baseball, type and even text."
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