Attorney Nikolas De Bremaeker said the boy, Joseph Lodano Rodriguez, was "at risk every day that he is not getting his treatments." Thurmond showed a 40-second clip of Joseph and his family at a Colombian facility for the deaf. Joseph's only language is American Sign Language, Thurmond said. Like Joseph's mom, Lesly was just beginning to learn American Sign Language." The first hurdle if he ends up staying in Colombia, is that he and his mother will have to learn Colombian sign language, which differs from American sign language.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 20, 2026 20:32 UTC