After the family dog was overcome by a parasite which caused it to attack 8-year-old Arrianna Botha, she has had several surgeries, this next one will be life-changing!
Bloemfontein, South Africa (05 September 2023) – The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department of Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein is home to Smile Week this week where 22 children will receive life-changing surgeries. Many of these children face bullying or have been waiting a long time for surgery but this week, that all changes!
Coordinated by Smile Foundation, Smile Week is a full working week, during which surgeons, their surgical teams and other medical professionals come together to perform reconstructive surgery on children whose families would not otherwise be able to afford it.
These are often sponsored by the Smile Foundation or by big donors. This week is sponsored by Momentum Metropolitan.
During this Smile Week, commencing 4 September 2023, 22 children will have surgeries that will give them a new lease on life. Among these brave young patients is 8-year-old Arrianna from Sasolburg in the Free State.
While Arrianna was studying at her family’s home on 20 September 2022, their family dog suddenly attacked her. What makes this incident more disturbing, is that the animal was non-aggressive and always good-tempered. However, a parasite that was later discovered in its brain caused the dog to act out.
Arrianna’s mother, Ailleen Botha, elaborates:
“I was putting up the washing that day when I heard disturbing noises coming from our kitchen. When I got there, Arrianna was lying on the ground and our dog was viciously pulling on her little body. I managed to get the dog off my child, and my husband and I rushed her to the Sasolburg hospital, where they treated her as best they could. We were told that Arrianna needed plastic surgery on her scalp, and she was moved to Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein, where she stayed for three months and underwent many surgeries.”
Since the extensive damage to her scalp and the multiple bite wounds, Arrianna has had to endure further life challenges.
Ailleen continues:
“Because of Arrianna’s scars and the damage to her head, she gets bullied a lot by older kids at school. We tell her every day that she is beautiful and special no matter what people say and do, but it is very hard for an eight-year-old to overcome this hurt. With all the months she spent in hospital, she is now struggling with her school work too. She also can’t play like she used to with her younger brother, because the skin transplants on her head are exposed and she has already hurt herself. Every day she has to remember to keep her head safe and not do anything to get injured.”
Ailleen explains the considerable amount of strain on the family’s financial situation since the attack:
“My husband lost his job with all the time he had to take off from work to be there for our daughter while she was in hospital. We also had two households to support over that time. Both of my parents are disabled, and we had to support them and my son, who stayed behind in Sasolburg while we travelled back and forth to Bloemfontein to be there for Arrianna. All the hospital trips have hit us financially and I am so grateful to Smile Foundation for the surgery they have organised for my daughter. Without Smile, Momentum Metropolitan, and the help of the doctors, we would never be able to afford to give our child the surgery she needs.”
This Smile Week, Arrianna will be undergoing scalp expander surgery, during which a scalp tissue expander is surgically placed under the scalp and is inflated gradually over a period of weeks or months with saline solution. This procedure is used to expand the overlying skin, which will be better matched in colour and texture to the surrounding tissues.
“At Smile Foundation, we believe that deep empathy and an unconditional love for others is what enables us to change destinies. Being able to give a child a secure sense of self – something that every child so deserves – is what drives all our Smile Weeks and motivates us daily,” concludes Marc Lubner, Co- founder and Executive Chairman at Smile Foundation.
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