/iWhile Boston doctors struggle to pinpoint the cause of a Bermudian toddler's life-threatening seizures, his mother is desperately appealing to the community for financial assistance.

Lisa Pacheco and her 19-month-old son Jahzarius are currently at Children's Hospital Boston waiting for test results indicating the source of his recurrent seizures and inability to keep food down.

"They don't know what is wrong," a tearful Miss Pacheco told The Royal<\p>Gazette from Massachusetts. "The only thing they can pinpoint down is that he has acid reflux. There is medicine for that, but they don't know what is causing his seizures."

Miss Pacheco has insurance with The Argus<\p>Group but has to pay for things like hotel and transportation up front. Boston has been ranked among the top ten most expensive cities in the United States.

"And right now I don't have anything," she said. "I can't pay my hotel bill. I have been on unpaid leave for some time caring for my son."

She said she has made the rounds to all the Bermuda charities she could think of, but they will not offer financial assistance because she has insurance.

She also tried to get a bank loan, but was unable to do so because she is currently abroad.

Miss Pacheco is staying at a hotel in Burlington,Massachusetts, about 25 minutes from Boston.

She hires a car to take her and her son to the hospital at least twice a week.

"I can't take him on the train or subway," she said. "There are too many germs down there. The last time we were in Boston he developed pneumonia.

"I am on a waiting list for a hotel in the city. Right now we don't know how long we are going to be here, before they figure out what is going on with him."

Jahzarius first became noticeably ill around the age of six months.

"I first noticed there was something wrong because he couldn't keep bottles down," said Miss Pacheco.

"I went to his doctor and he said nothing was wrong. I went back again and again. I said something has to be wrong with him because he is not taking his bottles like he should. He said he was probably colicky.

[JUMP] "I asked if Jahzarius could be looked at."

The doctor reluctantly agreed, and Jahzarius was sent to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, but doctors there were unable to find out what was wrong with the child.

Then in August 2008, Jahzarius was admitted to the hospital for two weeks before it was decided to send him abroad for further testing and treatment.

Since that time, Miss Pacheco and her son have been back and forth between Bermuda and Boston, often for months at a time.

On the surface, Jahzarius, is a lot like other little boys his age. He says 'bye-bye', 'no' and 'mamma' and likes to watch the television show 'Mickey Mouse Club House'.

What's unusual about him is that he's been forced to take so much medication in his lifetime that he doesn't even fight it anymore.

Miss Pacheco also has two older children Jahzeiko, six, and Jahzai, three. Jahzeiko dances with the H&H Gombeys and is in primary two at Francis Patton School.

"Jahzarius' father left when Jahzarius got sick," said Miss Pacheco. "He couldn't handle it. My other two children have a different father, and they are being cared for by him while I am in Boston.

"I wish I could come home tomorrow. I only get to talk to my other children on the phone.

"They had a very upsetting day, yesterday, because they missed me. They are too young to understand what is going on."

After being on the Island a short time, Jahzarius was rushed up to Boston again last month.

Last week he had an Electroencephalography (EEG) that looked at his brain activity.

He is also scheduled for Electrocardiography (EKG) to look at his heart, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) which will require him to be put under a general anesthetic because of his age.

"He is sick with a cold, at the moment, so they can't put him under for the MRI until his lungs are clear," said Miss Pacheco. "Otherwise he could die on the table. So that will keep us here longer, waiting for his cold to clear up to do the tests.

"It is very stressful dealing with this. With him being sick, I am doing everything I can to make him as comfortable as possible, which means I can't take care of myself. He is often in a lot of pain and cries to 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., and then I am so stressed and overtired, I can't sleep myself."

Miss Pacheco is a member of St. John's AME Church in Bailey's Bay.

"I speak and pray with the pastor there very often," she said.

Persons wishing to assist Miss Pacheco can make a donation into an account with Capital G Bank, 771-0000669.

She can also be e-mailed at greeneyez6942<\@>tmo.blackberry.net, or contacted at her hotel, 1-(781) 221-2233.