Saturday, May 9, 2009

photos - hydrocephalus

Margarita Antoine is a 2-month-old baby girl who was born with hydrocephalus. She was abandoned at the Missionaries of Charity in Cayes and transferred to Holy Angels where she is now under the care of Linda Cortesi and her workers. She was born premature and her body is very tiny. I don't know if she will survive. Her head is very tight and looks like it is growing quickly. Pray for her and for those who look after her.

She also has clubbed feet. Her feet are tiny. She weighs 8 pounds but most of the weight is her head. Her body only weighs about 2 pounds.

Vanessa Jules and her mother came by for a visit. Vanessa is feeling better and gaining weight after being treated for an intestinal illness that caused diarrhea for a few weeks. She can stand!

This is Chalmay Jean-Jacques who is a 25 year old man from Gonaives with hydrocephalus. He has never been treated. He is a walking miracle!

His head circumference is 85 cm. He was born caesarean section with an already developed hydrocephalus. Because his mother is poor he never had the opportunity to have a surgery. Most babies born this way don't survive and if they do they usually have severe brain damage. Not so for Charlie! He walks and talks and communicates well. He attended school and was able to answer all the questions for his dossier at Healing Hands including providing his and his mother's cell phone number. He is an amazing guy who will be an excellent role model for other hydrocephalus patients. A couple of people asked him if he thought his head was heavy and he told them no. He called me this afternoon to tell me that he arrived back in Gonaives and also I had the opportunity to talk with his mother more about his medical history.




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