The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

THE mother of a baby born with a skull defect is making an impassioned plea for the public’s help in settling the more than $100,000 in medical expenses for her son’s surgeries.

Tatum Hall-Holness was born on December 23, 2015 with craniosynostosis, a birth defect affecting the skull. Craniosynostosis is a condition where one or more of the fibrous sutures in a baby’s skull prematurely fuses and turns into bone. This changes the growth pattern of the skull.

He was also born with tracheal esophageal fistula (TEF), a condition where the esophagus is not connected to the stomach. This prevents the child from being able to eat without regurgitating the food.

His mother Jonique was heartbroken when doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) told her the news.

“I started to question and cried out to God: ‘God why us, why us?’ We did everything right, we did the right thing to get married first, now this is what we get for doing it the right way. Our first child. All that day I cried and cried. The news was painful,” she said.

“For (the first) six days of his life, baby Tatum couldn’t eat, they had him on drips until surgery. At six days old he had his first surgery to connect his esophagus to his stomach. Going up to the (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) every day and night was hard for us, especially me, to see my baby in that state. Leaving him up there was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, all I could hear (was) the sound of his monitors ringing in my ear.

“It hurt me so (badly) to see other mothers going home with their babies and I’m going home with a baby carrier but no baby. Only who feels it knows it, it was hard. Every night when I (thought) my husband Jermaine was fully sleep I (broke) down in bed and cried myself to sleep. This repeated until my baby was ready to come home.”

Though his first surgery was a relative success, Mrs Holness still notes that Tatum still experienced some difficulties eating. She was also concerned for other reasons.

“While Baby Tatum was in NICU, I noticed his forehead was a little misshapen, (but) the doctors didn’t seem concerned. They told me that ‘sometimes the (bone plates in the baby’s skull) overlap coming through the birth canal. It’s nothing, he will outgrow it.’”

However, Mrs Holness knew something was still wrong. Despite her requests for X-rays, Tatum did not receive one until nearly four months later.

Upon discovering an issue with the sutures in Tatum’s skull, it was determined that an MRI was needed. The scan had to be done at Doctors Hospital. The bill for that alone was $5,000, she said.

Although money was tight, Mrs Holness and her husband heeded advice to get a second opinion, and took Tatum to a hospital in the US.

She said: “Tatum had his surgery in January 2017 in Florida and it was successful. The results (were) amazing down to his stitches (which are) clean and stitch neatly like a sewing machine did it. We asked God for a favour on that trip and we got it.”

Tatum stayed in the hospital for four days and the bill amounted to $98,000. The anaesthesia was an additional $10,375. After the surgery, the family visited the hospital every two weeks for follow-ups, and Tatum was fitted with a custom made helmet to help shape his head. The helmet cost another $2,500.

“The trips were exhausting,” his mother said. “I didn’t have time for myself, just had to make couple dollars for ticket money, head back over, come back home, make couple dollars again and head back over.”

Tatum will be two-years-old later this month. Although he is doing well and meeting his milestones, his medical expenses still have to be paid. His family will be holding a raffle to raise money for these fees on his birthday, December 23, at the Braiding Bar Hair & Nail Studio on Carmichael and Lazaretto Road.

The raffle will occur at 3pm at The Braiding Bar, Hair & Nail Studio on Carmichael and Lazaretto Roads. Prices are $3 per ticket and $33 per book.

Tickets are sold at Beat Studio, Mario’s, and Multi Discount. The family has also set up an online GoFundMe account which can be accessed at www.gofundme.com/tatum-skull-surgery.

If you would like to make a further donation or have any questions, contact Mrs Holness at 242-425-1786 or joniquehall@gmail.com.