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She can be reached at The Drape Lady Interior at 905-847-3287 www.drapelady.ca The Drape Lady 7 weeks to Christmas! 7 Thursday , N ovem ber 4, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m Browne said many of the children, who are treated at the hospital, have conditions such as clubfoot, spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is among the most common conditions St. Bethanys sees. Also known as water on the brain the illness causes cere- brospinal fluid to accumulate in the childs brain causing increased intracranial pressure inside the skull, progressive enlargement of the head (in infants), convulsions and men- tal disability. If left untreated progressive hydrocephalus may be fatal. The majority of these cases result from infections that are not properly treated in the first month of life. In cases like these, the sur- geries performed at St. Bethanys are lifesaving, in other cases, as Browne pointed out, they save children a life- time of social stigma, which comes from having certain dis- abilities or deformities in this part of the world. Browne recalled seeing the doctors performing this life- altering work during his first visit to the hospital in 2008. I went into a surgery last time and I saw them perform surgery on a child with spina bifida, a six-month-old with a baseball sized growth on her back. Within an hour of sur- gery they opened it up, drained 60 ccs of fluid from it and closed up the spine, said Browne. Will the child have some difficulties moving forward? Sure, but certainly not what was in store for her without the intervention. While many of the children present were receiving treat- ment for disabilities, Browne said, due to the ongoing con- flict in nearby Somolia around 40 per cent of the patients were children, who were either caught in the crossfire or delib- erately targeted. While Browne was at the hospital he said one young boy required surgery to reattach his nose to his face after he was attacked with a machete. Another young girl required surgery to have pieces of shrap- nel taken out of her leg. Browne said he was over- whelmed when he first toured the hospital. Im a principal of a school, I dont see the things these physicians see everyday. We went in and did a full walk- through of the hospital and went in all the different rooms and saw these kids with miss- ing parts or waiting for surgery and very obviously struggling and the mothers that are there with them. Ive got a little girlyou just see these moth- ers praying and hoping for the very best for their child, said Browne. We left and both myself and the other doctor, for both of us it was our first time there, we just started cry- ing. I just wasnt ready for it. I thought I was, but I wasnt. As the days passed Browne talked to the parents and chil- dren awaiting or recovering from surgery. He was amazed the sense of poor them disap- peared. The children talked about how hopeful they were for the future; parents talked about how they were so thank- ful a place like St. Bethanys existed because they would never have been able to afford their childs surgery, other- wise. When you are actually sit- ting down with people and youre chatting, you realize they are exactly where they should be, said Browne. If there wasnt a place like this then where would they be? That was a real turning point for me. Browne met a number of children and parents during his time at St. Bethanys, including one woman whose six-month-old girl had received a life threatening infection at a hospital in Nairobi. This infection had traveled up the childs arm and was in danger of spreading to the rest of her body when the mother, unsatisfied with the treatment her daughter was receiving, took the drastic action of removing her from the hospi- tal and transporting her by bus to St. Bethanys. The doctors at St. Bethanys had to amputate the childs arm, but were able to save her life. Another boy had been severely burned in a fire, but had not received treatment for more than two weeks because his father could not afford it. When the father learned of St. Bethanys, he immediately brought his son to the hospital where doctors were able to save the boys life. As St. Bethanys runs on donations, Browne points out that all of this lifesaving and life altering surgery could not take place without the help of people like the students at St. Vincent School. Recently, because of these donations, the hospital has been able to renovate one of the existing operating rooms and add another, thereby increasing its capacity to con- duct surgeries. Additional beds have also been added. This is important, Browne said, because the need is so great the beds at St. Bethanys are never empty. St. Bethanys has also recently taken over a nearby school for disabled children called Joytown. They are currently improv- ing the schools facilities and intend to add a rehab centre. During this latest trip to St. Bethanys, which will last from Nov. 1, to Nov. 10, Browne will stay connected to his students through a blog he will be mak- ing regular updates to. The blog address is http://bethanyconnection.blog spot.com. Browne can also be reached at browneb@hcdsb.org or on Twitter @BrendanBrowne. For more information on St. Bethany Kids Hospital visit www.bethanykids.org. Emotional visit to hospital SUBMITTED PHOTOS HOSPTIAL VISIT: St. Vincent School principal Brendan Browne (above left) prepares to attend a surgery at Bethanys Kids Hospital. A young boy (above right) had to have his nose reattached to his face following a machete attack. Continued from page 1