In early january 2010 the caribbean country of haiti made its way onto nearly every news channel around the world a magnitude 7.0 earthquake literally shook the country three years after the earthquake haiti still hadn’t recovered from the terrible disaster the incredible need of the haitians still drew the attention of many
Including 28 year old certified therapeutic recreation specialist sarah konk during graduate school sarah fell drawn to haiti particularly the children living with disabilities who called the island nation home in 2013 she left her home in louisiana and moved to haiti where she began working at dunita’s children medical center about a year after she arrived in haiti
She was found a baby in street surrounded by garbage when sarah found nika she was 11 months old and weighed just six pounds half of which was fluid buildup she was incredibly malnourished and her organs were beginning to shut down the prognosis didn’t look good an american doctor with whom sarah had been consulting called her saying sarah she is dying there’s nothing more that you can do for her
Pray for a miracle and a miracle they got because of the severe neglect nika had experienced she was unable to drink from a bottle and could only drink a pinky sized amount of milk every couple hours however sarah kept feeding her the little she could stomach nikki kept drinking it and her organ slowly began to function again sarah fought tirelessly for nika to be seen by the best doctor she could find
She was even able to get nika a ct scan and a definitive diagnosis hydra hydranencephaly a condition in which the brain’s cerebral hemispheres are to varying degrees absent and replaced with cerebrospinal fluid even with the best care 99 percent of children with this condition pass away before the age of one sarah wasn’t going to give up on nika though after nico was turned away by haitian hospitals and clinics because of her
Complex situation and poor prognosis sarah finally found an american practitioner who would fly all the way to haiti to fit nika with a feeding tube so that she could at least receive adequate and critical nutrition nika kept defying all the odds and actually seemed to be thriving so was the relationship between sarah and nica she was even able to become nika’s legal guardian in february 2015. with this new legal status sarah was
Finally able to get a medical visa for nika to come to the united states the incredible duo flew into florida on may 19 2015 and had neurosurgery eight days later where a shunt was implanted to drain extra fluid and relieve swelling and pressure although the process was long and hard the results of all sarah’s determination and nika’s will to live are phenomenal sarah was able to set up a huge supportive network for nika that enables
Her to receive incredible medical care best of all all the professionals involved in helping nika have agreed to do it entirely pro bono over two years since meeting sarah nika is practically a whole new baby she’s beaten the odds and has really earned sarah’s nickname for her little warrior nika that’s it for today thanks for reading.