The upcoming Smile Week at Tygerberg Hospital will see 28 lives changed; 2-year-old Sharlita is one of those lucky children whose lives will be forever changed.
Tygerberg, South Africa (10 November 2022) – When asked to share his thoughts on children with physical abnormalities, professional German footballer, Mesut Özil, commented: “So many children are excluded from our society due to physical deformation. They should be helped to have a happier future.”
Mesut Özil, is a generous sponsor of BigShoe® – a non-profit, worldwide growing network of football and sports fans, helping poor children with life-changing medical operations and more. Through the upcoming Smile Week, which is sponsored by BigShoe®, Smile Foundation will be able to bring Özil’s wish to life.
Commencing on 14 November 2022 the upcoming Smile Week will take place at Cape Town’s Tygerberg Hospital, during which the Western Cape’s Minister of Health, the Honourable Doctor Nomafrench Mbombo, will be present to show her support for the initiative. Dr Nomafrench Mbombo is known for engaging communities, civil society, governments, parliaments and professional bodies to amplify the voices of populations at risk – particularly pregnant and rural women.
Also attending this Smile Week is Miss International South Africa 2022, Dr Ferini Dayal, who is not only a beauty queen, surgeon and philanthropist, but also a Smile Foundation Ambassador, and will be representing South Africa in Japan at the Miss International pageant this December.
28 Children will be undergoing surgery – most of which will entail cleft lip and palate repair. Among the children undergoing life-changing surgery, is little 2-year-old, Sharlita.
A life forever changed
Sharlita was born with Craniosynostosis – a birth defect in which the bones of a baby’s skull join together too early, before the brain is fully formed. This condition causes pressure on the developing brain, leaving little room for it to grow, and can lead to the detrimental disruption of their intellectual development, chronic headaches, increased irritability and poor feeding. Because of the deformity of an abnormal head shape that Craniosynostosis causes, children who are not able to undergo corrective surgery become extremely self-conscious about their physical differences, later on in life.
A little while after Sharlita was born, her parents began noticing physical differences compared to other children her age. Her temperament was erratic, ranging from being calm and stable to sudden bouts of hysterical crying. Trying to comfort the little girl has been extremely difficult for her mom, Sharlene, who is often exhausted after long sleepless nights of Sharlita’s inconsolable crying, while her husband has had to travel for work. Sharlita’s condition has been emotionally taxing on both her parents who are ever grateful for their daughter’s upcoming corrective surgery.
“What got us through the toughest two years of our lives was the support of family and we will always be grateful to them for their unconditional love and care.”
“We just try to make Sharlita feel loved every day. This is not an easy job with people always staring at her like there is something wrong with her. As her parents, we don’t want her to feel that she doesn’t belong because she looks different to other children. To us, she is perfect in every way and we will always be by her side, especially during her upcoming surgery. We are truly grateful for the medical expertise and the assistance from Smile Foundation and their donor, BigShoe® Foundation,” adds Sharlene.
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Sharlita’s operation will be an intricate and lengthy one. Surgery will involve a strip craniectomy and the placement of two stainless steel springs to help increase the amount of room for her brain to grow and develop properly. This procedure will improve the shape of her skull and reduce the risk of the dense fibrous connective tissue joint closing and other developmental issues.
“The sad reality is that people tend to avoid what looks different from the norm. Because of this, children with physical differences are often made to feel isolated from other children as well as their communities. With the corrective lifechanging surgeries that will take place during this Smile Week – all thanks to the incredible financial support of BigShoe® Foundation, and the dedicated team of surgeons, medical professionals and hospital staff of Tygerberg Hospital – we are honoured to be playing a part in uplifting families and re-writing futures – one child at a time,” shares Kim Robertson-Smith, CEO of Smile Foundation.
“Many children with facial deformities get their smiles (literally and figuratively) because of the surgical operations performed yearly here at Tygerberg Hospital during Smile Week. Thanks to Smile Foundation and BigShoe® for partnering with us in making a difference to the lives of so many children and their families.” Dr Matodzi Mukosi, CEO of Tygerberg Hospital.
Coordinated by Smile Foundation, Smile Week is a full working week, during which surgeons, their assisting surgical teams, other medical professionals and hospital staff open their hearts and clear their schedules to perform reconstructive surgery on disadvantaged children suffering from physical anomalies and the emotional pain of such conditions. To pledge your support for this initiative, click here https://smilefoundationsa.org/public-donations/
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