(care2, May 06, 2011)--Canadian charities are making a huge difference to children and adults worldwide by providing them with something they are unable to get in their impoverished countries: surgery to repair their faces.
Two weeks ago, six-year-old Yeabsra Hailmarim underwent an extremely complex and delicate procedure at Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital to repair her severe facial cleft, a condition that left her with a significant gap in her facial features and protrusions in her forehead where her brain lay unprotected.
The surgery was tense: Doctors literally had to remove her skin, then assemble the pieces of her face together like a jigsaw puzzle, being careful not to damage her eyes and her brain.
Yeabrsa was brought to Sick Kids by Toronto-based charity Transforming Faces Worldwide -- a non-governmental, non-profit agency dedicated to providing assistance to those in developing countries who are suffering with cleft palates and related facial disorders.
Yeabrsa was brought to Sick Kids by Toronto-based charity Transforming Faces Worldwide -- a non-governmental, non-profit agency dedicated to providing assistance to those in developing countries who are suffering with cleft palates and related facial disorders.
They provide both direct care as well as training to local teams in treating these disorders. The Herbie Fund, a charity established to bring kids from around the world specifically to Sick Kids for needed medical care, looked after her hospital costs. The surgeons waived their fees.
Today, Yeabrsa is recovering well, reports the Toronto Star. Her mother, who accompanied her from Ethiopia, was torn over whether to subject Yeabrsa to the long and risky surgery, but ultimately decided that if she did not, her daughter would suffer from stigmatization forever.
Today, Yeabrsa is recovering well, reports the Toronto Star. Her mother, who accompanied her from Ethiopia, was torn over whether to subject Yeabrsa to the long and risky surgery, but ultimately decided that if she did not, her daughter would suffer from stigmatization forever.
Even now, as a six-year-old, she was beginning to lose her innocence over the flaws in her face, asking her mother why she looked the way she did.
Did she fall? The affectionate, loving little girl was starting to show signs of withdrawal, says her mother, which ultimately pushed her to make the decision to get the surgery done.
Yeabsra will need at least one more surgery to finish the reconstruction of her nose. But until then, the little girl plays at peace, her face yet a mystery to her -- she has not looked in the mirror since the surgery -- but a miracle to many others. You can see photos of Yeabrsa's new face at the Toronto Star.
Yeabsra will need at least one more surgery to finish the reconstruction of her nose. But until then, the little girl plays at peace, her face yet a mystery to her -- she has not looked in the mirror since the surgery -- but a miracle to many others. You can see photos of Yeabrsa's new face at the Toronto Star.
Source: care2
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