Before Cranial Facial Surgery

Baby Miracle Tina Update, May 2008

Miracle Tina has had multiple rounds of surgeries and is now with her parents here in Miami recovering nicely. They are planning on returning to Samoa the end of May to a huge welcome home celebration.

After Cranial Facial Surgery

On March 5th Child Foundation's board member, Dr. John Ragheb donated his expertise as a pediatric neurosurgeon and repaired the meningomyelcocoele (protrusion of the spinal membranes & spinal cord through a defect in the vertebral column). After this successful surgery of removing the very painful bulge, Miracle Tina was able to lay on her back for the very first time in her life.

Pictured above : Drs. Wolfe and Ragheb, two of Miami's top pediatric surgeons. These generous doctors donated all of their time and talents to Miracle Tina

On March 13th Child Foundation's board member, Dr. S. Anthony Wolfe donated his expertise as a pediatric plastic surgeon and repaired her bilateral cleft, ear tags, and amniotic band on her ankle. She now has two nostrils instead of three and her mouth no longer has the deformities attached and soon she will be eating normally. Removing the band on her ankle may allow her use of that foot.

Thanks to your most generous donations, Child Foundation Charity has been able to help give this darling little girl a better quality of life. She will be going home with her family to her beautiful island and to join more family and friends who will bring her much love and joy.

We will be receiving periodic updates so you can watch her develop and grow via our website.

Xavier

Optic Nerve Hypoplasia is a congenital birth condition in which the optic nerve fails to develop normally, leading to blindness. One or both eyes may be affected. It relates to small or underdevelopment of the nerve, which transmits vision signals from the eye to the brain.

To read more about Xavier you can visit his website: www.xaviershopefund.com

Juan

Juan Andres is a seven-year-old boy from El Salvador. He was born with multiple facial clefts through the mid-portion of his face and left eye, and had several initial operations to repair the eyelid and orbital hypertelorism (a condition where the orbital cavities are overly separated). Since Juan Andes had these initial procedures the family lost the medical insurance which would pay for specialized care in this country. Juan Andes is ready for the next stage in his reconstruction, which will be to build his nose. He is a bright young boy, but suffers a good bit from his facial appearance.

ChildFoundation & Juan Andes thank you for all your help. Juan Andes had his surgery at Miami Children's Hospital July 10, 2007. Dr. Anthony Wolfe donated his services for the surgery and CFC donated $10,000 for the hospital expenses. Last January, Diana had her surgery donated by Dr. Joel Levin and CFC donated $5,000 for her hospital expenses at Miami's Baptist Medical Center.

Below are pictures since surgery:

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Diana

Diana G. is in need of further corrective surgery

Diana G. is in need of further corrective surgery and orthodontics. Please donate today to help fulfill Diana's dream of becoming a more self-confident young lady. Diana thanks you for all your help.

We have received a thank you card from Diana expressing her happiness for all the help she received!

Below are pictures since surgery:

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Matias

Child Foundation Charity donated $5,000 toward his surgery at Miami Children's Hospital

Matias is a one year old, diagnosed with bilateral hematomas and L arachnoid. The family is financially limited, they were only able to raise $5,000.00. CFC donated an additional $5,000 so that Miami Children's Hospital would operate on him . Thank you on behalf of the Beltran Family.

Matias is a lovely 12 month old baby boy. He lives in Peru with his parents. They both work hard and love him very much. They tried over several years to have kids, and after two miscarriages, Matias became a blessing in their lives, and in the lives of all his family members. Matias was growing and developing normally, and every step of his growing-up was greatly celebrated by his parents: his first smile, his first steps and his first birthday.

During his first year check-up, the pediatrician noticed that Matias's head was larger than normal, even when he was developing well and doing the things one-year-old kids normally do. This finding was worrisome and required further investigation.

The first step was to do an ultrasound of the head. Sadly, this test only confirmed the worst nightmare for his parents: there was something wrong discovered by the ultrasound. There was an increase in the volume of fluid in the lower portion of his brain, so a MRI was conducted. The MRI brought even more bad news.

The MRI showed bilateral subdural collections in the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital locations, especially in the left portion of his brain. They created a moderate compression effect to the brain parenchyma.

Matias's parents were immediately referred to various neurosurgeons. Matias's case is a complicated one. There are three separate spaces that are growing in Matias's brain and are compressing and displacing the normal brain: One subarachnoid cyst and two subdural hematomas. Surgery was necessary and needed to be prompt to prevent more damage to the brain.