Baby Grace, who was found abandoned among rubble on a building site last year, has laughed for the first time and is starting to crawl after having grommets to help resolve her hearing difficulties.
“Grace was named by the Netcare Pretoria East Hospital team who treated her when she was found on a cold and rainy day by a construction worker, crying from under a pile of rubble,” says Elmari Murphy (pictured), who takes care of Grace at the House of Kindness, a temporary safe house.
Dr Heinrich du Toit, a paediatrician practising at the hospital, recalls Grace was “a tiny little girl” when she was found and brought to the hospital. “Estimating her age was not straightforward, as it appeared Grace might have been born prematurely at around 36 weeks, perhaps a month earlier.”
Baby Grace remained in the hospital for over a week for tests, during which time the doctors and nurses grew extremely fond of her. On the day she was discharged into Elmari’s care through Child Welfare Groenkloof, everyone who had been involved in her care came to bid her farewell.
Tests revealed Baby Grace unfortunately had a condition affecting her overall health which required specialised treatment as her best prospect. As usual, Elmari and her husband leapt into action, organising a fundraising raffle with one of their sheep as a prize. With the support of the community, healthcare practitioners and the hospital pharmacy, Grace was able to have the specialised medication she needed to overcome the illness.
Amanda Bester, a diagnostic audiologist who was part of the multidisciplinary team caring for Grace, says that repeated attempts to test the baby’s hearing were unsuccessful, as Grace had recurring middle-ear infections.
“A diagnostic hearing test confirmed that Grace’s nerves for the brain to experience sound were working perfectly, and this indicated that her moderate hearing loss was only due to her chronic ear infections,” Bester says.
Elmari recalls that even with prescribed antibiotics, Grace cried at night and struggled to settle, which she attributed to earache. She was also developmentally delayed, even though Elmari places an emphasis on neurostimulation techniques to support early childhood development.
The Netcare Foundation, which works closely with the non-governmental organisation HI HOPES under the stewardship of Professor Claudine Storbeck, is acutely aware of the importance of ensuring early hearing and its effect on speech and neurodevelopment, and so supporting this baby was an easy decision. Netcare offers a state-of-the-art programme in which all babies born in its facilities are afforded the opportunity to have their hearing tested so no child who needs support is missed.
Ear, nose and throat surgeon Dr Quintus De Flamingh examined Grace and determined that her only viable treatment option was to have grommets placed in both ears. Grommets are small tubes that allow liquid to drain from the ear, helping prevent ear infections.
“Dr De Flamingh suggested grommets for Grace, but how would we afford this surgical procedure on top of our other expenses? Then yet again, the Netcare Foundation and the doctors came to Grace’s rescue, and they arranged to cover the costs of the operation,” Elmari says.
“Two days later, she was booked for surgery and, within a week, we could see she was a totally new child. She started crawling for the first time, as her ear problem had heavily affected her balance, and she is making up for lost time.
“Then recently, Grace woke up at 2 a.m. She wasn’t crying, but she was bright-eyed and didn’t want to sleep. Suddenly, I heard a new sound coming from her cot – a sound I had never heard before. Our Grace was laughing for the first time ever and it filled me with such joy.
“I sat with her on the carpet from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. just marvelling at this amazing child experiencing laughter for the first time, and I cannot tell you what that means. It is wonderful to see how children can thrive when given the chance,” she adds.
Elmari thanks everyone who has supported Grace and the House of Kindness. “The kindness of the many healthcare practitioners and members of the community who have helped Grace find her laugh is very deeply appreciated.”