Messi assured the child that everything would be fine if he remained patient.
Lionel Messi's heroics at FIFA World Cup 2022 have been much talked about. He led the Argentina football team to victory and proved that he is the best of the best. Now, people are getting emotional as an Argentinian woman revealed a story from more than ten years ago talking about the footballer and her son. A Twitter user has translated her narrative, which was originally posted on Instagram.
Messi's family recognised that, despite playing with other children his age, he was always the smallest of them in size. Medical examinations revealed that Messi suffered from growth hormone deficiency, a condition caused by insufficient amounts of growth hormone in the body, which results in impaired growth and development. The thread talks about how the child had "what Messi (had)."
Juani Jemena tweeted on December 26, "An Argentinian mother tells why she will always be grateful to Lionel Messi. Beautiful story not known until yesterday about Messi (and Tommy)." According to the mother, when her son was just four years old in 2008, she had a feeling that something was not fine with the child and doctors didn't realise it. "So as a mother, I began to investigate," she said.
"I started to read, gather data, compare reports, until one day I put together everything I investigated and I sat down in front of the doctor and told him :" My son Tommy has the same thing that Messi has," Mr Jemena tweeted translating the mother's story.
Furthermore, after extensive medical examinations, x-rays, analysis and meeting specialists, the family finally received the medical diagnosis of the condition. She didn't know how to explain her toddler that the treatment would be painful and last for a long time. "Now I had to explain to my 4-year-old son that I was going to start a treatment that would last at least 10 years. A treatment that would hurt him and that would not see results until the end. Lot of injections." reads the tweet.
"I bought a poster of Messi, we put it on his bedroom wall. We told him that he would do the same treatment as his idol. And for him to see that it was not an impediment for Lionel to fulfill his dreams." She contacted Messi's father and he helped the mother-son duo meet the star footballer at a hotel. Messi and the boy discussed where their injections were given, how much it hurt and other topics. Messi assured the child that everything would be fine if he remained patient.
The translated tweet says, "Messi told him that he sometimes bothered to be called "pulga", that sometimes he wanted to be a giant. But that being small have its advantages, being more skillful and quick. And he told Tommy : "at your age i was the same size as you"
The mother went on to say that she will always be eternally grateful to Messi for that meeting "For all this I prayed that on Sunday Messi would win the world cup. I will be eternally grateful for that talk with my son. Thank you Messi, you are giant."