It’s been almost two years since the miracle baby, affectionately known as “Baby Cyril,” captured the hearts of everyone at St Laurence’s Children’s Haven, and he now turned three years old on August 12.
Tilly and Richard Malan first laid their eyes on the then-malnourished infant in October 2021 and was given the nickname “Baby Cyril” due to his resemblance to the nation’s president.
During this time, Baby Cyril was four months old and was staying between the haven and the home of his parents until it was established that his parents would not be in a position to take care of him on a long-term basis. He then moved to the haven full-time.
Speaking to the Roodepoort Record, Tilly and Richard opened up about this difficult time of their lives, saying when Cyril was eight months old, he was fighting for his life and was undergoing harrowing seizures that almost took his life.
“The first time we saw him having a seizure was when he was in his teething phase, where he caught fever. While being attended by a friend of the haven, we began to notice him stiffening, with his eyes rolling toward the back of his head, and that’s when we rushed him to a doctor.
“He stopped breathing, and he was declared dead, and they had to resuscitate him. After successfully fighting to save his life, he was transferred to Netcare Krugersdorp and was treated in the emergency room, and he was moved to the children’s ward.
“After a day, his seizures became worse, and he was in an induced coma and connected to a ventilator for two further days where he received medication that calmed the seizure down,” she says.
After that, Cyril was diagnosed with encephalitis and septicaemia.
Tilly says despite this long and hard journey, Cyril is getting stronger than ever and is showing promising signs of progress. She says he’s learning to navigate his surroundings, and his determination to walk and talk is palpable.
“We are trying to give him the best life he can have, and we call him a miracle baby because he survived a lot as a baby and he’s still standing,” Tilly concludes.
