Chrisno Jeudi went to the United States for shunt surgery. The family pictured was his host family. When Chrisno went back to Haiti his family asked if a family could be found for him to be adopted. Now Chrisno is back in the United States with his adoptive family, the Gunnells.
Chrisno's mother works for us here at Coram Deo. When Chrisno was not considered a candidate for surgery here in Haiti Vanessa, of Angels to Haiti was able to find a doctor willing to operate in the United States. Look at the end result; a smiling happy young boy!
When Chrisno was here in Haiti he would always clap his hands. From the article that follows you can tell he continues to do this.
Joanna, his mother continues to help other hydrocephalus children by preparing meals for the mothers and children at the hospital when the surgical teams come here to Haiti. She does her best to provide a well-cooked meal and enjoys seeing children get neurosurgeries. She is thankful to all those who helped her son Chrisno and for his adoptive family in the United States. She was happy to see the photos of Chrisno the other day. Hopefully the newspaper doesn't mind that I posted their pictures of Chrisno on the web. I just wanted to complete the circle and show Joanna, Chrisno's birth mother who continues to help hydrocephalus children and encourage other mothers because she knows what it is like to care for a child with hydrocepalus. Pray for Chrisno's upcoming surgery, and the Gunnell family as they look after him in the United States.
FAMILY IN RINGGOLD RAISING MONEY FOR BOY'S SURGERY
(GoDanRiver.com) - By Susan Elzey
RINGGOLD - One loving family in Ringgold is making a miracle happen in the life of a little boy from Haiti.
Three years ago Darlene Gunnell saw a news show on which a woman from Angel Missions Haiti was asking for a family in the U.S. to host a Haitian baby to come to Carilion Clinic Children’s Hospital in Roanoke and have life-saving surgery.
The baby boy, Chrisno, was about 20 months old and had hydrocephalus, a condition that prevents cerebral fluid from draining off the brain. Angel Missions, a non-profit group that arranges for medical care for Haitian children with life-threatening medical conditions, had arranged the surgery but needed a family to care for Chrisno for three to four months. The surgery placed a shunt in Chrisno’s head that drained the fluid from his brain.
Darlene and her husband, William, called their three sons, Drew, Derrick and Drake, together and as a family decided they could do this as a family project.
“When I saw him on TV, I wanted to help somebody, and I thought it would be a way to teach my boys a lesson in life,” Darlene said.
So Chrisno came to them in September 2008 and had the surgery, returning home to Haiti in January. To make a long story short, Chrisno’s parents decided they couldn’t care for him and were going to place him in an orphanage when the Gunnells decided, once again as a family, to adopt the little boy they had fallen in love with.
More surgery needed
Now he is in need of even more surgery, and the Gunnells are raising money to travel to California the end of July where a pediatric neurosurgeon will perform surgery on Chrisno’s hydrocephalus that has now turned into macrocephalus (big head). The surgeon will remove some of the bone in his skull to get it to a more normal size.
“Bone had formed, so there is fluid in the center of his brain, and his brain has been pushed out,” Darlene said. “For some reason, the fluid hasn’t drained out.”
William explained the previous shunt surgery is fairly common and successful in the U.S., one reason being it is treated much earlier than Chrisno’s was treated.
When Chrisno first arrived in the U.S. he weighed 27 pounds, 22 pounds of which was the weight of his head.
“The pressure caused constant pain, headaches, loss of vision and the inability to close his eyes completely,” Darlene said. “Once the pressure was relieved, he began laughing, and we taught him to roll over, hold his bottle and feed himself finger foods.”
The Gunnells began the adoption process in May 2009, but the process was slowed after the massive earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010. Chrisno’s parents could not be located for several months. The adoption was further complicated because the child was not actually in an orphanage but was staying with a family the Gunnells were paying to care for him.
The adoption was finalized in November of last year, but now the family must pay $5,000 for Chrisno to become an American citizen. Although their insurance will pay for most of his surgical costs, they must also raise the money for the remaining medical expenses and their travel expenses to California and at least a two-week stay. They plan on staying at the Ronald McDonald House next to the hospital.
Financial help needed
Financial troubles also hit during the last two years as William lost his job and then decided to attend college to become an occupational therapist assistant. Darlene works as a physical therapy assistant at a local health care facility.
“We had no idea how we were going to pay for William’s college other than student loans. We had not made any plans for adoption and were not prepared financially for it,” Darlene said. “We had not done any research to see what an adoption would involve. All we had was our faith in God, and we knew He would help us through.”
The family had wanted to postpone the upcoming surgery to give them more time to raise money, but the surgeon said it wouldn’t be advisable.
“Chrisno right now can only crawl about 10 feet before the weight of his head becomes too heavy and he has to rest,” Darlene said. “He is intellectually delayed, but will repeat what we can say. He also is visually impaired.”
He is able to pull up to standing, but the family fears that since he has learned to do that, he will tip out of a crib because of the weight of his head, so he sleeps on a mattress on the floor.
He loves music and wakes up every morning singing and clapping his hands. He is even taking piano lessons.
The upcoming surgery has the potential to reduce the size and weight of his head by 20 percent and allow him to be more physically functional and relieve the struggle of carrying around his head.
And his brothers have learned the life’s lessons their parents wanted them to have. They are attentive to him and hover over him as he sits in a walker and plays.
The youngest brother, Drake, even helped his mother write a book entitled “My Brother Chrisno” that explains how Chrisno came to be a member of their family. The book can be ordered at http://www.innovopublishing.com/ .
Chrisno attends a pre-school program at Kentuck Elementary School during the school year, but now that school is out, Drew, 15, cares for him and his brothers while their parents work and under the watchful eye of their grandmother next door.
They laugh and roll around on the floor with him.
“He isn’t hard to entertain,” Drew said. “It’s kind of neat.”
How to help with Chrisno’s surgery
Chrisno’s Carnival, a fundraiser, will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Owen Farm at 1668 Silver Creek Road. There will be inflatables, hay rides, good food, pony rides, vendors, games and lots of music.
Performers include Matt Boswell and the Hillbilly Blues Band, Cowboy Outlaw, Nick Carter, The Lighthouse Singers from Lake Gaston, Miss Danville/Pittsylvania County Outstanding Teen Casey Jennings, Firehouse Youth and Will Gunnell.
A $5 entry fee will cover all the events but the pony rides and food.
Donations can be made through Angel Missions Haiti and are tax deductible.
For more information or to donate, call the Gunnells at (434) 822-8920 or David and Pattie Owen at (434) 685-4123.
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