Born on 2 March 2017, baby Isabella Chedie was a dream come true for an ecstatic mom and dad. Upon birth Rochelle Chedie, Isabella’s mother heard her husband ask, “What happened to her ears?” and cry out in anguish.
Isabella’s parents found out they were expecting in July of 2016 and in October the gynaecologist confirmed they were to have a baby girl. “The excitement was just on another level,” Rochelle said. “I planned girls’ drives listening to music, ballet classes, everything a mom would want to do with her baby girl.” Rochelle even went as far as to plan for her baby to get her ears pierced at six months old. Unfortunately Rochelle and her husband did not know that their precious daughter would be born without ears. “It was shocking and very emotional,” Rochelle said. Rochelle went on to say that she spent her maternity leave depressed and would cry often.
“I decided I had to be strong for my daughter and change the way I saw things,” she added.
Isabella was born with a rare condition called Bilateral Atresia which is the absence of the outer ear and ear canal in both ears. It only affects one in every ten thousand babies bilaterally. “We didn’t get a diagnosis straight away. I had to Google it to find out what was wrong. I don’t think they were looking for this,” she said. The family had no idea what they were dealing with and that made it all the more disheartening. “We were disappointed because we had made so many plans,” Rochelle said tearfully. The family was also shocked to discover that their daughter had two holes in her heart, one of which has closed completely and the other has reduced to a safe size that will be monitored each year.
“She is my blessing and I wouldn’t change her, but I want what’s best,” Rochelle said. Isabella is a happy baby, full of smiles and rarely keeps her parents up at night. “She is so confident for a baby and she loves people, just like her mom,” she said jovially. “I don’t want to strip her of that confidence,” Rochelle continued.
The family has received loan hearing aids from the Give an Ear Foundation and their medical aid has just approved hearing aids as well. Rochelle said, “I am grateful that for now she will definitely have speech development”.
After much research, their prayers were answered. Los Angeles-based doctor, Dr. John Reinisch, can do ear reconstruction when Isabella is three years old. When she is two and a half, a CT scan will determine whether she is eligible for ear canals. The catch is the cost of the procedure. Due to the procedure taking place out of South Africa, their medical aid will not cover the procedure, and the cost may reach about R2 million rand, which the parents do not have. “We’ve raised R1 300 so far, but we need help,” Rochelle said.
Rochelle has asked the public to join the family in walking this journey and assist in raising money for Isabella.
To donate towards the procedure you can follow the link https://gogetfunding.com/hope-for-baby-isabella.
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