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Family prays for child needing surgery
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| Submitted photo Baby Evelyn Zagal, 2, awaits a life saving surgery. The Zagal family left for Arkansas last Friday. Evelyn will have a surgery to remove her lymphatic malformation on Aug. 19. |
By Hillary Wundrow
Daily News staff writer
Humberto and Gisela Dorantes of Darien are praying their niece, baby Evelyn Zagal, will finally get the surgery she needs.
Although the 2-year-old has undergone four operations, no doctor has been able to successfully remove the lymphatic malformation on her neck.
Parents Carlos and Teresa Zagal of Rockford will take Evelyn to a doctor in Arkansas for a life saving surgery on Aug. 19.
Although Evelyn's genetic condition started before she was born, her parents had no idea the condition would become so serious.
"When she was pregnant they told her there was something not right with the baby ," Humberto Dorantes said.
"They told her the baby had a little water bag on her neck. The doctor told her everything was OK though and not to panic," Gisela Dorantes said.
When Teresa Zagal returned for an ultrasound at 32 weeks of pregnancy, a doctor told her the baby would have to be born that day.
Doctors diagnosed the child with a lymphatic malformation, resulting from an abnormal formation of lymphatic vessels.
Lymphatic vessels lie near blood vessels and help carry fluids from within the body to the lymph nodes and back to the bloodstream.
When the lymphatic vessels do not properly form during embryonic development, the vessels can become blocked and enlarged as lymphatic fluid collects in the vessels, forming a mass.
On July 21, 2003, Evelyn was born carrying a large mass starting at the back of her necking and going up her face.
"Right after she was born she had her first surgery," Gisela Dorantes said. "Fifteen doctors were waiting for her."
After Evelyn was released from Rockford Memorial Hospital, the Dorantes and six other family members were trained on how to remove Evelyn's trachea tube, perform CPR and put on bandages.
Although she had two more surgeries at Rockford Memorial Hospital, the mass grew back each time.
With little progress being made, Evelyn went in for her fourth surgery at a Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Although the doctor thought he could remove the entire growth, after eight hours of surgery he gave up.
"He was unable to identify which tissues he was cutting into and decided not to put Evelyn's life at risk," Gisela Dorantes said.
The fourth surgery ended with the mass still partly attached. For the next six months Evelyn remained in the hospital as doctors tried applying different substances to stop the lymph nodes from growing.
Watching Evelyn suffer from the effects of the different drugs was almost unbearable for her parents.
"Seeing her like that was very difficult. She had CPR performed on her on two different occasions which brought us to the toughest decision we would ever have to make. We decided to make her 'do not resuscitate,'" mother Teresa Zagal said.
The child was then transferred back to Rockford for further care. Discharging Evelyn a few days short of her first birthday, doctors didn't expect the child to live much longer.
Although she can't walk or talk or eat, Evelyn has made progress. She can now sit up by herself, is learning sign language from her parents and enjoys being with her 3-year-old brother Alex.
"She's definitely a trooper. She doesn't know any differently. This is her life and she was born with it," Gisela Dorantes said.
Despite Evelyn's adaptation, doctors fear the mass will get bigger and obstruct her airway.
After scouring the Internet for doctors, the Zagals found a surgeon in Arkansas who is confident he can remove the entire mass.
Although Evelyn may need plastic surgery as she grows older to reconstruct her face, successful removal of the lymphatic malformation will mean survival for Evelyn.
A donation fund has been set up at U.S. Bank to help the Zagal family with medical and travel expenses. Donors can contribute to the Evelyn Zagal fund at any U.S. Bank.
Although the 2-year-old has undergone four operations, no doctor has been able to successfully remove the lymphatic malformation on her neck.
Parents Carlos and Teresa Zagal of Rockford will take Evelyn to a doctor in Arkansas for a life saving surgery on Aug. 19.
Although Evelyn's genetic condition started before she was born, her parents had no idea the condition would become so serious.
"When she was pregnant they told her there was something not right with the baby ," Humberto Dorantes said.
"They told her the baby had a little water bag on her neck. The doctor told her everything was OK though and not to panic," Gisela Dorantes said.
When Teresa Zagal returned for an ultrasound at 32 weeks of pregnancy, a doctor told her the baby would have to be born that day.
Doctors diagnosed the child with a lymphatic malformation, resulting from an abnormal formation of lymphatic vessels.
Lymphatic vessels lie near blood vessels and help carry fluids from within the body to the lymph nodes and back to the bloodstream.
When the lymphatic vessels do not properly form during embryonic development, the vessels can become blocked and enlarged as lymphatic fluid collects in the vessels, forming a mass.
On July 21, 2003, Evelyn was born carrying a large mass starting at the back of her necking and going up her face.
"Right after she was born she had her first surgery," Gisela Dorantes said. "Fifteen doctors were waiting for her."
After Evelyn was released from Rockford Memorial Hospital, the Dorantes and six other family members were trained on how to remove Evelyn's trachea tube, perform CPR and put on bandages.
Although she had two more surgeries at Rockford Memorial Hospital, the mass grew back each time.
With little progress being made, Evelyn went in for her fourth surgery at a Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Although the doctor thought he could remove the entire growth, after eight hours of surgery he gave up.
"He was unable to identify which tissues he was cutting into and decided not to put Evelyn's life at risk," Gisela Dorantes said.
The fourth surgery ended with the mass still partly attached. For the next six months Evelyn remained in the hospital as doctors tried applying different substances to stop the lymph nodes from growing.
Watching Evelyn suffer from the effects of the different drugs was almost unbearable for her parents.
"Seeing her like that was very difficult. She had CPR performed on her on two different occasions which brought us to the toughest decision we would ever have to make. We decided to make her 'do not resuscitate,'" mother Teresa Zagal said.
The child was then transferred back to Rockford for further care. Discharging Evelyn a few days short of her first birthday, doctors didn't expect the child to live much longer.
Although she can't walk or talk or eat, Evelyn has made progress. She can now sit up by herself, is learning sign language from her parents and enjoys being with her 3-year-old brother Alex.
"She's definitely a trooper. She doesn't know any differently. This is her life and she was born with it," Gisela Dorantes said.
Despite Evelyn's adaptation, doctors fear the mass will get bigger and obstruct her airway.
After scouring the Internet for doctors, the Zagals found a surgeon in Arkansas who is confident he can remove the entire mass.
Although Evelyn may need plastic surgery as she grows older to reconstruct her face, successful removal of the lymphatic malformation will mean survival for Evelyn.
A donation fund has been set up at U.S. Bank to help the Zagal family with medical and travel expenses. Donors can contribute to the Evelyn Zagal fund at any U.S. Bank.
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