(Jamaican Observer) The way has now been cleared for baby Ariah Turner to lead a normal life.
That’s the suggestion from the toddler’s mother, Tashoy Brown, following a major anal reconstructive procedure days ago.
Brown had appealed to Jamaica Observer readers for support recently, as Ariah, now aged one year, was born without an anus. Little Ariah received her first surgery at only 12 days old, where an opening was made on her abdomen to ensure that she could pass waste
But that was a short-term fix that lost its effectiveness earlier this year, the mother said.
In late August, Brown noticed that the toddler’s waste began passing through her vaginal cavity. She told the Sunday Observer that with the public health-care system under pressure due to a third wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic, her daughter’s worsened condition was deemed not urgent enough by health-care professionals.
This was when she decided to seek assistance from a private institution.
After consulting The Barnett Clinic Surgery & Dermatology Centre in this north-western city, she received a $735,000 quotation for the reconstructive surgery to be done, and through the help of good Samaritans across the world the money was raised in two weeks.
But, the mother said, another roadblock popped up in the child’s journey to normalcy as the country’s experience with oxygen shortage pushed back the original date for the surgery.
Disappointed but not discouraged, the mother said she waited for the next available surgery date. That date came earlier this week.
“Her surgery was done on the third of November at The Barnett Clinic Surgery & Dermatology Centre in Montego Bay. It was a miracle. It was very successful and she is currently on the road to recovery,” said Brown.
A burden has been lifted from the family’s shoulders, the child’s mother said.
“I am very overwhelmed with emotions but I know that she will be fine. This is a lot to handle and I am prepared to take on my duties gracefully; I took some time off work so I can be here to assist her,” she told the Sunday Observer in an interview yesterday.
She added: “I’m really grateful because I didn’t know that the surgery would have been done. And it means a lot to me because when it’s time for her to be potty-trained, it won’t be so hard.”
The child is expected to undergo a final follow-up surgical procedure in around six weeks to close the opening on her abdomen, Brown told the Sunday Observer.
