New hope for 'miracle baby'
2005-07-28 11:01
Cape Town - Doctors aren't sure exactly how it happened, but a "miracle child" from Kleinmond sat up in his cot the whole day on Wednesday, smiling. This less than two weeks after everyone feared for his life due to one of the scarcest forms of tuberculosis.
When nine-month-old Lime Vula was admitted to the Tygerberg children's hospital last week, the TB had caused the glands in his chest to swell to such an extent that the bronchial tubes in his chest were only a quarter of their normal size, and he couldn't breath at all. One tube was almost completely closed.
In addition, the glands in his neck were so swollen that it closed off the capillaries and seriously impaired the blood supply to his head. It caused his head to swell to such an extent that his eyes and even his neck were no longer visible. According to the doctors, he looked a lot like the "Michellin man".
There was a good chance that his tuberculosis could be fatal, and even if he did survive, one would have expected him to remain in hospital for at least two or more months before making a significant recovery.
But on Wednesday, Lime was glowingly healthy and his mother was preparing to take him home on Friday.
"It is not yet clear to us why he made such a miraculously quick recovery, but we are of the opinion that it is proof that even in the worst cases of tuberculosis, there is still hope," said Dr Pierre Goussard, a paediatrician at the hospital.
Shortly after being admitted to hospital, some of the swollen glands had been removed from Lime's chest to relieve the worst pressure.
He received additional treatment for TB, and within three to four days, the glands in his neck also "showed a dramatic reduction in size," Goussard said. "This usually takes months."
A day or two later, Lime smiled broadly when they disconnected the breathing apparatus.
And on Wednesday, about two weeks after his admission to hospital, Lime bounced up and down on his cot while other mothers in the ward made kissing noises every time they saw his lively smile.
According to Lime's mother, Nomawisile Vula, the swelling to her baby's head had been the worst. "I was scared to look at him."
Not only were his eyes and neck no longer visible as a result of the swelling, but one couldn't hear him cry anymore.
"I had no hope that I would be able to take him home alive."
And even though he will still have to take TB medication for five and a half months from his local clinic, to his mother, he now looks completely healthy "and there is no more pain".