Meet Vorline Charles. She was born on 28-March-2007. And unbeknownst to her, to her proud mother, and to her diligent father, she had something wrong anatomically with her brain. The brain has its own fluid system. Certain cells make the fluid. It swims through special tunnels within the brain and surrounds the brain and spinal cord on the outside. And then it is absorbed by other cells so that it doesn't build up. But if there is a problem anywhere in that system, something like this occurs. Hydrocephalus.
She's four now. She doesn't walk. But how could you with a head three times the size and weight of your body? That's why it takes humans so long to walk in general - our disproportionate head size #TopHeavy. So when a disease makes that worse you can't expect her to walk at the same age. Her language is not well developed. You may be asking, "But it's Creole, how can you understand it anyways?" Good point. I can't. But I asked the mom and she said that she isn't speaking like she should.
I first met Vorline while I was out on one of my community romps. She was crawling on the ground and literally followed me, on the ground, to two houses. Smiling the whole way. I walk towards her, trying to match her smile, but as you can see by her picture it's impossible. Her arms went up. She wanted me to hold her. I think I can handle picking up an adorable little kid. She grabbed my sunglasses and tried to fit them on her head... #NotGonnaHappen. But they did cover her eyes when I put them on her.
It's crazy when you're with this girl. She truly enjoys life. She's only had 4 years of it, and by most opinions she's had a pretty rough go, but she loves the hell out of life. They should probably take record her laugh and use it in every movie from now till the end of time. It's perfect.
And it makes me wonder what can we offer this girl with regards to treatment. She'll likely need a shunt placed to help relieve the pressure causing her head to swell. Depending on where the obstruction is in that path I described the shunt may need to pass through brain tissue. I think everyone can imagine the potential for complications. Death. Loss of certain functions. Change in personality. But the bright side is that most kids with hydrocephalus after 1 year - which we think this kiddo fits that bill - usually live normal life spans.
We've been informed that at the children's hospital in Port-au-Prince that they have a neurosurgeon who does shunts. Rigan, whom many of you know and many more I'm sure have heard of, is an employee within that system. Our hopes are that he can help us bypass the lottery that they have setup to determine which patients are seen by the doctors that day. Mom wants a normal baby. I don't blame her. But I can't say that I've found a happier baby in my time down here. Nor another one who appreciates #GreatHair.
And yet, I must remark the fact that in all of these pictures she looks so happy and joyful. And here we are, in perfect health complaining all the time about every little thing.
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