Toddler faces medical challenges - Mother seeks help for corrective surgeries

Azora Benjamin is not yet two years old but is already the joy of her household as her giggles are contagious and she regularly showers her mother Ashanti Boswell with butterfly kisses.

For Boswell, 20, she dreams of her only child attending college, getting married and living a normal life. But this vision seems far-fetched. Little Azora suffers from a series of medical conditions including encephalocele (a sac-like protrusion or projection of the brain and the membranes that cover it through an opening in the skull), club feet, and cleft palate (a split in the lip).

Encephalocele happens when the neural tube -- the embryonic precursor to the central nervous system -- does not close completely during pregnancy. It can cause developmental delays, mirocephaly (abnormally small head) and mental and growth retardation. It is treated with surgery to place the protruding part of the brain and the membranes covering it back into the skull and closing the opening in the skull. However, neurologic problems will still be present. Long-term treatment depends on the child's condition.

The young mother said she is aware that her daughter may require multiple surgeries, but presently, she is focused on her having corrective operation for her lip.

"Hers is bad because her gum, which is supposed to be down, is up with her teeth. She was supposed to do the surgery already, but it was put off three times already at Bustamante Hospital for Children. They told me that they would have to source a doctor from outside to do it. But I really hope I will get it done soon, so if anyone out here can assist I would really appreciate it," she said. A cleft palate happens if the tissue that makes up the roof of the mouth does not join together completely during pregnancy. Boswell said she has even contacted a children's hospital in Philadelphia but was told that before they could provide an estimated cost, doctors had to physically access the toddler.

Boswell, who hails from Kellits, Clarendon, said the first trimester of her pregnancy appeared normal. However, an ultrasound showed some abnormalities when she was about five months pregnant.

"I went to find out the gender and it showed a bump in her head. The doctor say the swelling may go away. I went to see a specialist when I was about eight months and they told me that the baby has a frontal encephalocele," she said. "I was devastated. I cried at the doctor's office."

Azora was born via C-section on August 31, 2021 at the Mandeville Hospital in Manchester. Boswell said she was plunged into further sadness when it was revealed that the newborn had only six fingers and six toes.

"She has one toe on the left foot and five on the right. She also has four fingers on her left hand and two on her right She was also born with club feet. She was transferred to the Bustamante Hospital where she spent the first seven months of her life. It was rough because I had to travel every day. All now it still challenging because I still have to go to clinic at the hospital sometimes two times monthly," Boswell said.

The toddler has just started sitting up on her own, something baby usually do at four months old.

"She is unable to walk and she isn't talking. I would really want to see her be able to talk because sometimes when she is crying, I don't know what is wrong with her. She can only consume liquid because of the cleft lip. If she even try anything, it would get stuck in her gum and her gum is opened to her nostril and it would be hard to take out the food if any get stuck," she said.

Anyone wishing to assist Azora Benjamin, may contact her mother Ashanti Boswell at 876 870 1247.