TEMPLE, TX — Andy Juristo, a 7-year-old boy with autism, recently underwent surgery to correct a foot malformation from birth.
"When I was pregnant with Andy, my womb didn't grow properly, so he was really cramped for space," said Andy's mother, Talitha Juristo.
Andy was born with a bilateral club foot, "which typically, it's one foot that turns inward, but when he was born both feet touched" said Andy's mother.
The surgery Andy recently endured left him with a hip-to-foot full leg cast. Andy's family is now struggling to get him not tear at it.
"With his autism, we've already started trying to break our cast because it's just very disturbing for him just at random points in the day," explained Talitha.
Leaning down to ask Andy why he chose a bright red cast, his mother explained, "Lightening McQueen is his favorite character, has been since he was about two years old. That's our one constant fixation."
In order to make sure Andy's cast stays structurally sound, the Juristo Family is hoping to find a Central Texas artist willing to make the cast resemble Lightening McQueen.
"I was hoping to find someone to donate their time and help convert his cast into a Lightening McQueen-ish car, where it has the race car number and a couple of the decals," said his mother.
This idea came from Andy's first leg braces, put on at only 4 weeks old. The braces were plain white plaster casts, explained Talitha, until a tattoo artists made them "special" by tattooing an old-fashion heart with "mom" written in script across it.
"Even at that young of an age, he didn't like the cast but he liked the picture on it," said Talitha.
Now his family is searching for an artist in Central Texas to transform his new hip-to-foot cast into a Lightening McQueen masterpiece.
If you would like to help the Jursito Family, send your contact information to the Central Texas News Now Facebook or by calling at 254-754-2525.
