A mother's love for her miracle baby

It takes a special kind of love and determination to care for a child with a disability. Oftentimes, the challenges are many and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. For Tanesha Wilson, landscape designer, the last 18 months have been the longest and most testing times of her life.

Her young daughter, Malia Wilson-Henry, was born with a birth defect known as imperforate anus, a birth defect in which the rectum is malformed. Young Malia was airlifted from the Holmes Regional Medical Center in Brevard County, Florida, to the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, Florida, where she underwent surgery.

After a surgery to insert a colostomy bag at just three days old, instead of being released from the hospital in two weeks as initially planned, Malia was discharged after five months.

Malia was also diagnosed with congenital heart failure and Wilson, while faced with these myriad challenges, was unable to meet her financial obligations.

Surgery needed

"The cardiologist said she needed surgery and my time in the United States was almost at an end. I contacted the consulate in Miami, but this proved futile. I had to come to Jamaica for five days and I was allowed to re-enter. Initially, they gave me six months, and then they allowed me to stay for a year," she said.

Following her return to the United States, young Malia underwent her open heart surgery. "It was nerve-wracking for me to see my baby undergoing so many challenges, but I did not want to give up and I could not give up. She was a fighter and I knew I had to ensure that she was taken care of," Wilson said.

"It was heartbreaking for me to see her lying on her back for six weeks. She had to do at least 35 follow-ups after, and all of this was done in Orlando. We had nowhere to go because my family was in a different section of Florida. I received housing at the Ronald McDonald House, which was close to where the hospital was," Wilson added. She stayed at the facility for five months and indicated that she was never hungry and was well taken care of.

Wilson had to sell her motor vehicle in Jamaica to offset some of the expenses she incurred while young Malia was being cared for. "In October 2017, she had another surgery that had to be postponed to January 2018. However, the day before her flight she got sick and had to be rushed to the emergency room. The flight had to be cancelled and she had to stay in the hospital," Wilson said.

Dr Hubert Swanna and Dr Donald Pumley were two of the doctors that helped Malia to make a full recovery. Wilson said Malia still had two additional surgeries and it was only by God's grace that she was able to pull through.

"I have no regrets having this child. For single mothers out there, it is a ray of hope and God is in control. Never leave your child. Malia was sick with numerous defects and I am still sticking it out," she said.

"Many people saw me and didn't know what I was going through. I lost friends along the way, and those that I thought would be there and supportive, they were not there. However, there were those that gave me hope and I am indebted to them," she added.

Both Malia and her mother are back in Jamaica and the young child is recovering well. "I am a superwoman, she's my ride or die chick and I will be there for her until death do us part," she said.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm. com