Alpa - A Little Girl Whose Life is Changed
On Tuesday I shared a little about Dr. Alvear's pull though procedure. This morning I rounded with Dr. Alvear to check on Alpa, the 11 year old 'surprise' patient. She was a surprise in that she was not on the original list, but showed up for clinic on Monday and had surgery on Tuesday. She and her family live in the next town, about 45 minutes from here. She was born without an anus, and was given a colostomy to save her life. In the US, this may not have been necessary as they might have been able to determine that the rectum terminated at the vagina and could have rearranged the organs at that point, creating an anus and eliminating the need for the colostomy. In countries such as India, they don't have the training for this technique. Yesterday, Dr Alvear found the rectum in the vagina and was able to perform the pull through procedure and in about 3to 6 months, doctors here will be able to close the colostomy and she will become a normal, functioning child.
We asked her with the help of Bansari Mandalia,of one our our nurses from Harrisburg, who speaks the language, if she would like to get rid of her colostomy bag and the answer to that was a very clear YES. Dr. Alvear asked her if she was was happy, and she grinned from ear to ear. She shared with us that she goes to school, which is unusual for kids with colostomy and that she is in the 5th grade and worried that her teacher will be upset with her for missing school for this operation and that her favorite subject is literature.
Her mother, Manjula and younger 6 year old brother, Vandan who is in 2nd grade were at her side; a small group compared to some of the patients who bring as many as a dozen relatives to the hospital with them. Alpa will be discharged from the hospital today to go home and will return to see the local surgeons in a week.
I wonder if we will ever see her again, or learn about her life as she grows up....
Thankful to be able to share these stories with you,
- Cheryl
On Tuesday I shared a little about Dr. Alvear's pull though procedure. This morning I rounded with Dr. Alvear to check on Alpa, the 11 year old 'surprise' patient. She was a surprise in that she was not on the original list, but showed up for clinic on Monday and had surgery on Tuesday. She and her family live in the next town, about 45 minutes from here. She was born without an anus, and was given a colostomy to save her life. In the US, this may not have been necessary as they might have been able to determine that the rectum terminated at the vagina and could have rearranged the organs at that point, creating an anus and eliminating the need for the colostomy. In countries such as India, they don't have the training for this technique. Yesterday, Dr Alvear found the rectum in the vagina and was able to perform the pull through procedure and in about 3to 6 months, doctors here will be able to close the colostomy and she will become a normal, functioning child.
We asked her with the help of Bansari Mandalia,of one our our nurses from Harrisburg, who speaks the language, if she would like to get rid of her colostomy bag and the answer to that was a very clear YES. Dr. Alvear asked her if she was was happy, and she grinned from ear to ear. She shared with us that she goes to school, which is unusual for kids with colostomy and that she is in the 5th grade and worried that her teacher will be upset with her for missing school for this operation and that her favorite subject is literature.
Her mother, Manjula and younger 6 year old brother, Vandan who is in 2nd grade were at her side; a small group compared to some of the patients who bring as many as a dozen relatives to the hospital with them. Alpa will be discharged from the hospital today to go home and will return to see the local surgeons in a week.
I wonder if we will ever see her again, or learn about her life as she grows up....
Thankful to be able to share these stories with you,
- Cheryl
What a beautiful young girl who was given a gift by all of you. God bless!
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