Giving a little could give baby full life

Eltham grandma, Anne Franks, is appealing for people to consider "giving a little" to help her granddaughter, Mila, get to the USA for life changing surgery before she turns two.

Mila, who is nine-months-old, has already survived the death of her twin sister while they were still in the womb, and now the Wainuiomata based youngster needs an expensive operation to help her live a normal life.

When Mila and her twin sister, Alyssia, were in the womb, scans showed that one twin, Alyssia, was much smaller than the other. Anne's son Nathan Gardner and his wife Melanie were referred to three different hospitals and had regular scans, tracking the growth of the babies.

"It was a really hard time for them, they had to decide if they should consider having the babies really prematurely, which risked both babies having serious health issues, or to continue with the pregnancy risking Alyssia not making it."

On the advice of doctors, the couple continued with the pregnancy with weekly scans. At 29 weeks, the scan came with heartbreaking news, baby Alyssia had passed away.

Melanie continued with the pregnancy for the next few weeks, until she went into labour at 32 weeks and delivered both girls.

Mila's battle wasn't over though. It was noticed she wasn't meeting her developmental milestones, and she was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy caused by brain damage she suffered in the womb.

Now nine-months-old, Mila can't sit unaided, her limbs and tongue are stiffening, she can't even suck her thumb. Without surgery, she is likely to be wheelchair-bound in her future, with limited mobility. Melanie and Nathan say on a positive note, Mila can see and hear, and can make sounds, babbling like her peers. However, with her tongue stiffening, she may not be able to form words properly in the future.

There is hope says Anne, who explains that the family are hoping that a specialist surgery, selective dorsal rhizotomy, could see this lively little girl walk, talk and even run one day.

The surgery, not available in New Zealand, has been proven to help children with cerebral palsy regain independence and Mila's family are fundraising in the hope of being able to get her to the United States for the surgery in time for her second birthday.

"It is important that she has the surgery around that age, as that will reduce the chance she will need further surgeries later on. Getting Mila to the USA could make the difference to her life, from always being dependant on someone else, to being independent." As children with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy get older, their body begins to deform due to spasticity, meaning they need orthopeadic surgery in the future.

Anne says that since the family started a givealittle campaign to raise the $100,000 required to cover the cost of travel and surgery as well as Mila's stay in the USA, donations have been coming in, giving the family hope.

If Mila can have this treatment, it will be a happy ending to her hard start in life.

Anne Franks - Mila's grandmother.

To make a donation to Mila, click here