A LITTLE MIRACLE; Docs gave Mary a fortnight to live.. now she's almost one.Byline: By DECLAN FERRY A MIRACLE child has defied medical science by staying alive for nearly a year - even though doctors said she would not last a fortnight. Little Mary Cunningham, who will celebrate her first birthday on February 25, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder two weeks after she was born. Doctors who were treating her told her mum Anita, 18, that the condition Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS SLOS Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome SLOS Sub Level Open Stoping SLOS Standard Levels of Service SLOS Single Line of Sight SLOS Section Loss of Signal ) meant she only had two weeks to live. But the tough little tot has defied the odds to battle symptoms such as a weak heart, a curved spine, very low cholesterol levels and a cleft palate cleft palate, incomplete fusion of bones of the palate. The cleft may be confined to the soft palate at the back of the mouth; it may include the hard palate, or roof of the mouth; or it may extend through the gum and lip, producing a gap in the teeth and a cleft - which means she cannot eat solids. Anita, from Drogheda, Co Louth, said: "She was diagnosed at about two weeks old and we were told she probably wouldn't live another fortnight so she really is a miracle girl." Mary must be fed through a nasal tube and only weighs nine pounds as poor weight gain is one of the symptoms of her condition. Her mum hopes that she might put on enough weight so she will be suitable for treatment in the US. Until then she is being treated in Our Lady of Lourdes hospital The 100-bed capacity Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is a tertiary hospital located in Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines, servicing the entire Bicol Region. The hospital is affiliated with the Our Lady of Lourdes College Foundation, and the Emilia Palencia Medical Mission. where Dr David Vaughan David Vaughan may be:
Anita said: "We believe a seven-year-old girl in Canada is the oldest living person with this type of SLOS but we don't know what will happen with Mary from day to day." Anita was getting ready to sit her Leaving Certificate Applied The Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) is a self-contained two-year programme of the Irish Department of Education and Science. It was introduced in 1995. According to the Department, the programme is exams when she became pregnant with Mary over a year and a half ago. She spends nearly every minute with her daughter but the family are also helped by nurses from the Jack and Jill Foundation every few weeks. Anita and her mum hope to take Mary on her third visit to Lourdes next month and celebrate her birthday two weeks later. A CD, A Song For Mary, has been recorded to help raise cash for Mary and the Jack and Jill Foundation - and a special fund called the Baby Mary's Lourdes Fund has also been organised. Drogheda band Last Resort recorded the album which features three of their own songs plus a Jimmy McCarthy track called Wonder Child. One song on the album, Maria Anita Angelica, is named after little Mary. The album is being sold in CD World in Drogheda but Mary's gran is calling on other stores around the country to stock it. FOR information on the CD or the Baby Mary Lourdes Fund call Mary Cunningham on 086 8795181. news@irishmirror.ie CAPTION(S): MEDICAL WONDER: Anita and Mary who has proved doctors' worst fears wrong Pictures: DENIS SCANNELL/CORK EXAMINER' TOUCHING: Anita holds Mary's hand |
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