Race against the clock to save Ballito prem-baby Zayleigh
Despite months of setbacks, the family is praying and hoping that the next life support test on Friday will show improvement.
What should have been six months of joy, has instead been six months of panic for Ballito residents Jacques Ferrie and Tanya Davel.
Their daughter Zayleigh was born prematurely on June 6, and showed immediate signs of difficulty.
“When she was born she was completely silent, no crying or anything. Initially we thought she was a stillborn,” said Davel.
It turned out that Zayleigh had fluid in her lungs, while also presenting unusual features, like six fingers on both hands and six toes on her left foot.
“Doctors immediately started doing tests to determine what the cause was and found that her heart was not functioning properly. She had three valves instead of four, amid other issues,” said Ferrie.
After endless weeks of tubes and tests, doctors decided to undertake open-heart surgery on Zayleigh to give her the best chance of survival.
The surgery on October 31 went well, but Zayleigh has largely been on life-support ever since, with her body unable to sustain itself.
Doctors have been trying different treatments in the interim and have periodically tested whether the life support could be stopped, but it appears her lungs are too weak to breathe on their own.
To better treat the issues, doctors have recommended an expensive genetic test that needs to be sent to the USA.
It is hoped this will confirm their current diagnosis of Ellis-van Creveld Syndrome – also known as dwarfism.
“Regardless of what happens, Zayleigh will be our last child together, because it is likely that it is a rare combination of our blood types that caused the problems,” said Davel.
Despite months of setbacks, the family is praying and hoping that the next life support test on Friday will show improvement.
There is unfortunately a time limit on how long life support can be sustained before it can potentially cause seizures, internal bleeding and brain damage.
“For now we are racing the clock and just doing everything we can to support her. We really appreciate everyone who has reached out and helped us in this difficult period.”
If you would like to help the family, you can find details on how on Davel’s Facebook page or via backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/zayleigh-operation.
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