Case story – June, 2007

A second chance

 Little Done Marian-Daniel was born on September 29th, 2006 in the maternity of Medgidia. The child’s mother is 19 years old and the father is 26. The child was born with medical problems: he was diagnosed with Cheilognatopalatoschizis (wolf mouth) and recommended a surgical intervention. He cannot feed with nothing else but milk from the feeding bottle. The family’s material situation is very poor; the mother is only 19 years old and has no income, and the father works by the day carrying out unqualified jobs in agriculture. The parents and their child live with the paternal grandmother in Mircea Voda village. Their only stabile income is represented by the social security.

The poor material situation and especially the child’s illness represent some risk factors which drove both mother and child in a crisis situation.

Cheilognatopalatoschizis (wolf mouth) is a condition in which “rabbit lip” combines with velo- palatine split. It defines as a paramedian split (one- or two- sided) of the superior lip from the superior maxillary, as well as of the rough palate.

 

This congenital anomaly has an entire list of negative consequences:

-esthetical consequences;

-dental consequences: it determines a disturbance of the dental evolution on the lateral side of the gum;

-phonetic consequences: the “wolf mouth” determines a mutation of the voice and frequently the nasal voice persists even after surgical intervention is done;

-nutritional consequences: because of the feeding problems, malnutrition may rapidly appear.

The surgical intervention is performed in two stages. The first stage must be done at the age of 5-6 months and represents the cheiloplasty (in order to repair the lip defects); the second stage must be done at the age of 12 months and represents the urano- stafiloraphia (in order to close down the velo- palatine split). In the case the results are not the anticipated ones, one can perform additional plastic surgeries which aims at the nasal pyramid, but these kinds of interventions must wait until reaching the age of 9- 10 years old or pharyngoplasty at the age of 12-14 months old.

Such children treatment implies a very long period of time and a team- work; the pediatrician, the plastic surgeon, the pediatric dentist, the oto- rhino- laryngologist, the speech therapist, the psychologist and the pediatric psychiatrist have their very well defined role.

In March, Marian turned 6 months and took place the first intervention.

We’ve worked with the mother and the paternal grandmother and offered them specific services such as: counseling, information, access to community resources (to contact the best specialist). We also sustained the family morally and financially through food supplies, diapers, money for transportation, as well as a sum of money received donations to use for the surgical intervention. The mother and the child continue to need support in order to go to the specialists for check- ups, and for the second intervention.

Could you be so kind to sympathize with this little boy and his family, and maybe offer him the chance to enjoy his childhood?

As. Social Holt Margareta Marin, Constanta site

A CHILD’S EYES

I met Mihaela in an autumn sunny day. It was before noon when I entered in a small yard, with many small houses all around. The yard was empty. From houses you could hear only a few adult voices. I knocked to the Mihaela’s family door. I entered in a dark small room. In that diffused light I saw two big eyes that looked at me bewilderment. I looked at her and I smiled. She answered with a inquiring look “Who are you?” Then, I wished to be able to explain her, in a way that could help her understand who I was and what I was doing there. But I said “Hello. I am Ada? What is your name?” She threw toward me a long sight, and answered after a while “Ela”.

Please, try to imagine a two years old child; if you have or had one, you probably remember that it is a very provocative age for a parent. The child is energetic, noisy, naughty, trying to open all the drawers, wishing all things around him/ her was not allowed to play with, falling, crying, and when he/she became tired (much later then you expected), he/she nestled in your lap, waiting to be bathed, hugged and told a story.

 This is the way I would like to see Mihaela. I was waiting for her, from a moment to another to jump from the bed, where she was, to take from somewhere a toy, perhaps not a new or complete toy, eventually some objects that could replace a toy, to start playing, and a few moments after that to say or ask something to her mother, even though she was talking with me … I was looking at her from time to time and I have seen her big eyes, much too serious, I thought … or maybe sad? After a while when she didn’t do anything except looking at us, she asked her mother to hug her. A two years child that sits almost without moving for two hours! I thought that maybe some parents would prefer such a child … I would like Mihaela to scuttle away in the small and neglected yard, and returning with a “trophy”: a small rock, a leaf, maybe a toy that was abandoned sometime … by someone…

 Desperately, Mihaela’s mother, that has to take care of all her four children alone, asked for Holt Romania Foundation’s help. Since then, in their life some things changed: one of Mihaela’s brother, Adrian, 9 years old, which had emotional problems was referred to a counselor, the mother was counseled and supported in developing an efficient collaboration with Adrian’s teacher, the mother found a job as a dressmaker, and Victor, 11 years old, was supported to be seen by an ophthalmologist.

 

 Probably you would like to ask “What happened with Mihaela?” and I would answer: In Mihaela’s eye there is now shining a spark …

Social worker:Ada Diana GABOR, Mures site

In the middle of the summer

The brook penetrates slowly the heart of the field. The birds drown lively in the clear water of the brook and the colts frolic freely on the green grass. …Up, in the sky the hot sun looks at the exquisite landscape. 

The field ends where the houses start to appear. The first house has a beautiful and a dapper courtyard, with green grass and flowers, but most of all, inspired with the silvery voices of the children. In the middle of the courtyard, two beautiful children are playing, hauling a toy bike after them. The smell of baked bread determines Ştefan Maximilian, the youngest child, to cry: “Mom, ...I am hungry!!!”. In a few minutes, in front of the house an old woman appears. She has a radiant face and a hives look and she moves slowly, keeping reeking bread in her hands. She is the mother. As a matter of fact, she is Ştefan Maximilian and his brother’s grandmother. They know her as their mother. ....Because she bakes bread for them, she stays with them every time they are sick and need her, and she also plays with them or quarrel them when they do something wrong. ..

The face of their real mother, they hardly remember. Ştefan Maximilian knows that she is beautiful and smiling. She dresses nicely and draws everybody’s attention on her. But, he also knows that she has never stayed next to him when he needed to. When he has tears on his face, when his hands were looking for some warm ands to soothe him. All that he could found were the hands of his grandmother or his father. Never his mother’s hands...  

Stefan Maximilian’s parents had been married for six years and they had together two children. Last year, they divorced and both children remained with the mother. She chose to spend her life with another man and she left with him the country. She abandoned her children. Full of worries Ştefan Maximilian’s father decided to take care of his children, no mater how hard it would be. Thanks to God, with hearts full of love, the grandparents decided to help the father and they offered him food and a shelter. Unfortunately, the income of the family is not enough for a normal living. Using counseling and material support the social worker of Holt Organization helped the family to surpass the crisis situation and to keep Ştefan Maximilian and his brother at home with their grandparents and father...in the beautiful courtyard, with green grass and flowers, animated by the children’ silvery voices....

 Social Worker: Diana DUMITRIU, Iasi site