One in a million Ashley’s condition is ‘looking great’
Most will remember Ashley Keet as the girl who has a one in a million brain disease, but the latest results have shown she has made progress.
Ashley Keet was born with a vein of Galen malformation (VOGM) in her brain – a malformation that only occurs in one in a million children.
A week after Ashley was born, she and her mom were discharged, with what they thought at the time was simply issues with feeding.
A week later, they went back for a sonar on her brain, which was declared clear as the ‘bleeding on the brain … was gone’.
Read the initial article here: Ashley’s one in a million
From that time on, Ashley had no issues with development, learning to walk at 10 months, and ‘Pappa’ being her first word.
Then out of the blue, in January and February 2017, Ashley suffered two seizures, with her right side going lame the first time, and the left side the second.
Following her second seizure, doctors at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital explained that it could be bleeding on the brain, and the Keet family were referred to the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH) in Durban.
It was here that they carried out an MRI which confirmed the vein of Galen malformation (VOGM).
Ashley was then sent for a second MRI in late September 2017 at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, the results of which were sent to the doctors at IALCH who had previously worked with Ashley.
After nearly five months of waiting and suspense, the Keet family finally received the news that Ashley needs no further intervention at this stage.
The doctor’s message reads as follows:
“We’ve reviewed the MRI for Ashley. It’s looking great. There appears to be no residual shunt present. (Which is good). Means that there is no need for any further intervention at this stage. I would recommend a repeat MRI about a year after the previous one.”
“I was in tears, and my husband wasn’t far behind. We now have six months that we can simply enjoy,” said Klarissa.
“My mom, my daughters and I are planning to go to Durban in May,” Klarissa said, overjoyed at the prospect of actually visiting Durban on vacation and not for medical reasons.
She concluded by saying, “The anxiety is, for now, a little lighter.”
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