In 2010, a little kid with Down syndrome was found neglected and starving in the attic of his family’s home. The one who was responsible for providing him with care had abandoned him.
Even though he was six years old at the time, Giovanni “Govi” Eastwood weighed the same as a child who was just three.
His mother, Rachel Perez, had been arrested for unpaid warrants, and the authorities had located her other children and transferred them to a secure location; nevertheless, Govi continued to hide in the attic of the house he shared with his family in Kansas.
According to Sergeant John Klingele, who was responsible for finding the child, “She (Perez) invented some narrative about where Govi was.” “So in the end, they all went their separate ways, and Govi was left behind.”
The officers suspected the youngster was still inside the home, so they went back inside to conduct another search. They soon concluded that the youngster was hiding up in the attic after they had called out to him.
According to Klingele, Govi looked “like a child out of a concentration camp, with bones and skin when they first met. We were informed that he would be seven years old, but based on his stature, he seemed to be no more than three years old.
Govi weighed only 17 pounds, had trouble walking, scarcely spoke, and was covered in waste. He was also coated in excrement.
The lack of food that the kid consumed caused him to suffer from rickets, which resulted in his bones becoming brittle and bowing, and the boy’s buttocks’ fatty tissue deteriorating and disappearing. According to information provided by the medical professionals to the Kansas City Star, Govi wouldn’t have lasted longer if he hadn’t been rescued that night.
The kid had been left without a blanket or toys, and the police assumed that the boy’s mother had placed him there to conceal him.
Because of how she treated her kid, Perez is presently serving an eight-year sentence in jail for attempted murder, which she received.
The cops who discovered Govi that day were reunited with him six years later and were shocked to see the changes he had undergone in that time.
“The child has enchantment.”
The Eastwoods, Govi’s great aunt and uncle, Stacy and Joe took in Govi and his two sisters and eventually adopted them all. Govi’s recuperation has been a slow process; at first, he would only sleep on the floor and was worried that he was going to be struck if someone tried to high-five him, but now that he has found a new home, he feels loved and protected.
“That youngster has extraordinary powers. “He really brings out a better person in everyone he interacts with,” Eastwood stated of the actor.
When the officers who had helped rescue him went to see him at the sheriff’s department in 2016, they saw a good change in the 12-year-old boy and honored him by making him an honorary deputy and presenting him with a plaque.
Govi extended his gratitude to the cops by shaking their hands and expressing his appreciation for their assistance earlier that day.
“That young man is the true hero. Seeing how broad his grin is and how large his heart is. “It’s wonderful to see him again,” Klingele said.
According to the information provided by his great aunt, Govi spent that night sleeping with his unique plaque.
