WINDHOEK – The condition of a little girl who had a protruding tongue caused by lymphangioma condition has improved to the extent that she speaks now. When New Era reported on the little girl Emilia Paulus’ condition in 2016, her mother complained the hospital was slow in treating her child.
Paulus’ tongue protruded out of her mouth which made talking as well as eating difficult. Her mother, Emiliana Shisaande only fed her with Omaere through a syringe. At about age three, Paulus couldn’t talk but respond when you greet her by making a sound.
Her tongue was dry, cracked and getting sores. According to an online explanation, lymphangiomas are malformation of the lymphatic system characterized by lesions that are thin-walled cysts. These cysts can be macroscopic, as in a cystic hygroma, or microscopic.
The girl’s mother, a resident of Mix settlement, situated 20 kilometers north of Windhoek did not allow her daughter to play with other children because she was scared, they will hurt her.
After Shisaande and her daughter visited a hospital in South Africa towards the end of 2016 through the assistance of the Namibian Women Lawyers Association, Paulus’ condition has improved.
A follow up with the family at their shack at Mix settlement this week established that Paulus who is now five-years-old can talk. Her tongue is smaller than before although not all completely back in her mouth. “She eats solid food unlike before. But she complains that her teeth are aching,” Shisaande said. Upon inspecting her teeth, all upper teeth are rotten and disappearing in her gums.
The mother said the hospital in South Africa gave her one injection that lasts about three years in the body. The concerned mother said they were supposed to return to South Africa this year for a follow up but was informed there are no funds when she queried at Katutura hospital at the beginning of this year.
Initially, the mother said they were supposed to go back to South Africa in March 2017 so she went to Katutura hospital to enquire this year.
During the visit, little Paulus had just returned from pre-primary at the settlement.
She was quick to show the reporter her school report and her grades are excellent. Her mother is now looking for school space for her little girl in Windhoek as there are no space for her next grade at the settlement.
Unemployed Shisaande explained this will be difficult for her next year as she will need to fork out N$300 per month on transport cost among her daughter’s other school needs.
Shisaande currently survives on her daughter’s N$250 social grant and try to make ends meet.