LITTLE BOY GETS THE “OORPERASIE” HE PRAYED FOR
We sometimes tend to think that we need to make huge miracles happen in order to make a big impact on someone’s life. Five-year-old Kayden Greef however, is proof that this belief is extremely untrue.
When Marie Louise (Kayden’s mom) contacted OHH she called his condition “bat ears”. And at first sight, it is indeed the first thing you notice.
For an adult, this might not be a problem, but if you are only five years old and your friends at school (innocently and childlike) start calling you Dumbo, you take a knock, no matter how smart and cute you are.
A friend at Kayden’s play-school recently had an eye operation and Kayden kept asking if he could also have a doctor like that, which could fix his ears. Marie Louise’s heart could not bear seeing her child suffer the shame any longer and like any mother, she just wanted to make it better.
Medical aids, however, are not all that keen to pay for cosmetic surgery and for a long time the Greeff couple felt that their hands were tied as the family simply could not afford to pay for this procedure in cash.
The innocent teasing at school, on family holidays, while doing their shopping and basically anywhere Kayden spend time got worse. After reading an article on bullying and teen suicide, Marie Louise knew that before her son walked that route, she had to make a plan. She decided to reach out on social media.
An anaesthetist on the OHH team came across the Facebook post and having toddlers herself, she immediately felt a kinship. She encouraged Marie Louise to apply for the procedure at OHH, and after going through all the red tape, the application was approved.
Cure Day Hospital Erasmuskloof came on board and early in July Kayden got the operation he was praying for. He bravely called it his “oorperasie” (earperation). It was a small procedure, but it was literally a dream that came true for Kayden.
Thanks to Hospital manager Mariana Neave, her team at Cure day hospital Erasmuskloof and the OHH team for changing another life for the better.
Article by Yolande Strauss
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