Saturday, March 07, 2009
Journey to health
Samuel Alexis, 3 weeks old, cries as anesthesiologist Kevin Vogeley positions him during preparations for surgery.
Photos by JEANNA DUERSCHERL The Roanoke Times
Host mother Shirley Bryant pats Samuel Alexis on the back at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Alexis, who is from Haiti, is in the United States to be treated for a type of spina bifida that is called myelomeningocele.
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Samuel Alexis was surrounded.
He lay face down on a sterilized surgical bed, and a medical team wearing green scrubs and blue masks were there to help. Samuel, 3 weeks old and already 1,400 miles away from his native Haiti, was born with parts of his spinal cord and nerves tangled into a kiwi-sized bulgeat the bottom of his back.
During the surgery, an anesthesiology resident asked from behind his mask, "How did this baby get here?"
"It took God opening all the doors," said Vanessa Carpenter, a Salem resident and director of Angel Missions Haiti.
The Christian nonprofit has over nine years helped more than 100 Haitian children receive medical treatment in the United States. The way Carpenter puts it, Samuel's case required more than one miracle.
Samuel was born in a rural, dirt-road village in Haiti with spina bifida. In the United States, it's the most common birth defect that disables people for life -- but it can be treated.
Samuel was also born with hydrocephalus, a condition primarily characterized by excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain. He is scheduled for further treatment in the weeks ahead.
His uncle, who lives in a larger town, contacted Carpenter through mutual acquaintances.
In Salem, Carpenter began to e-mail neurosurgeons from Miami to Washington state, looking for a volunteer who would treat Samuel. Angel Missions operates entirely on donations, and all medical care is donated.
She got a reply from Dr. Lisa Apfel, a Carilion Clinic neurosurgeon who organized a volunteer medical group that included Anesthesiology Consultants of Virginia.
Then, Carpenter's assistant in Port-au-Prince rushed to get the required documents for the trip. Within two days, Samuel had a passport to exit Haiti, and a visa to enter the United States -- a feat in itself given that expediting such documents typically takes weeks, Carpenter said.
It was critical to get Samuel treatment as soon as possible. Babies born with spina bifida in the United States are typically operated on within a few days of birth.
"When they first told me about Sammy in Haiti, I told them I'd never had a case like his accepted before," Carpenter said. "I said, 'It's going to take an act of God to get this done.' "
Samuel's operation was Tuesday, and all that was left of the bulge was an incision. He is scheduled to stay in Vinton with his host mother, another Angel Missions volunteer, for three to six months so Apfel can monitor his postoperative progress.
Angel Missions will continue looking for ways to help more children. Even during Samuel's surgery, Carpenter sent out e-mails about the next child in need while she waited in his hospital room.
For more information, go to angelmissionshaiti.org
