Parents seek help for sick baby

Yesterday, when many women were basking in Mother's Day fun, Tracy Ann Ricketts-Williams and her husband Danzel Williams spent their day at the Bustamante Hospital for Children visiting their 10-month-old daughter, Grace.

Ricketts-Williams, who has three other children, said that when Grace was born, she appeared normal and was doing things at a normal pace. However, when she was three weeks old, she began having convulsions.

"She was shaking and stiffening out and her eyes were wild and I didn't know what was happening. I was very scared, especially when she began turning blue. I rushed her to the Bustamante Hospital and after a couple days, they told me that she was having seizures. They gave her a medication but she started having them [seizures] about two weeks later," she said.

Ricketts-Williams said that a number of medical tests were done on the infant, one of which revealed that Grace has minor bleeding at the back of her brain.

"The doctors said it was in significant while another set of tests were done and the other doctors said they didn't see anything. So, it must have stopped. But she keep having seizures and they are becoming more intense as she grow. They have increased the dosage of the medication that she is taking and they have also placed her on the cannabis oil medication, but she is still having seizures. The doctors said the other tests and meds that she require are not available in Jamaica, so they are suggesting that I try and get her overseas for treatment," she said. "She was babbling up to six months now, but she stopped. She not sitting up or she doesn't roll over or creep or do anything for herself."

Ricketts-Williams and her husband are seeking the public's assistance in getting her to the US for urgent medical treatment. She said she has made contact with the NYU Langone Health medical institution, which she said has offered treatment at an estimated cost of US$12,500 (approximately $1.9 million). A GoFundMe account that she created has so far raised US$1,615.

Ricketts-Williams said her daughter currently spends more time hospitalised than at home with her family, as she is constantly in need of oxygen.

"She keeps having seizures like every minute, so she is not getting enough time to breathe," she said. Ricketts-Williams said Grace's condition has taken a toll on the entire family.

"My oldest son average drop way down, so I am going to have to get counselling for him. My husband and I have been together for 19 years and it nearly took a toll on our marriage and we are in counselling right now," she said.

Persons wishing to assist baby Grace may contact Ricketts-Williams and her husband at either 876-812-1925 or 876-491-7146.