VIDEO: Pretoria ear op girl needs further surgery
The Bam family in Montana, north of Pretoria, needs to raise more funds to pay for a follow-up operation after their six-year-old daughter underwent a mastoidectomy.
The Bam family in Montana, north of Pretoria, needs to raise more funds to pay for a follow-up operation after their six-year-old daughter underwent a mastoidectomy at the end of September.
Larochelle Bam underwent a three-hour mastoidectomy to remove the cholesteatoma in her left ear.
“She will have to go for a follow-up operation where the doctor will insert a prosthetic piece into her ear where most of the bones have perished due to cholesteatoma,” Larochelle’s mother, Leechelle, said.
Leechelle said only after they have seen the doctor on 9 October, would they know when the next operation would take place and how much they would need to pay for the operation.
Larochelle’s parents had to raise more than R80 000 to pay for the mastoidectomy.
READ MORE: UPDATE: All set for north girl’s mastoidectomy
The Bam family joined forces with a local charity organisation, Caring Daisies, to help raise funds for the first operation.
“She is her old self again. Larochelle has some pain behind her ear but the pain is not consistent,” Leechelle said following last week’s operation.
“The doctor said Larochelle is a real fighter. While she received anaesthetic she had to count to 10 for it to kick in. Larochelle counted all the way to 28 before she could fall asleep,” said Leechelle.
“My daughter is a miracle. The doctors said the cholesteatoma was millimetres away from her brain.”
The doctors had to drill out the cholesteatoma and plant the ear drum into the ear.
Leechelle said her husband Riaan was Larochelle’s hero.
“At hospital I walked with them to the theatre, but turned around at the lift because I was too emotional and I was scared I would make Larochelle emotional.
“Riaan said in the operating theatre Larochelle was a little scared. He then put on theatre clothes and told her he looks like a Smurf,” Leechelle said.
“He was by her side every step of the way. When Larochelle woke up from the anaesthetic after the operation, she shouted ‘pappa, pappa!’ She only wanted her dad.”
READ MORE: UPDATE: North girl gives thumbs-up after the successful op
Leechelle said the doctors told them Larochelle’s operation had been the longest they had done on a six-year-old.
Larochelle was discharged the following day and was recovering at home this week.
She will return to school next week.
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