Guest Post- Rosie Watts- Helping Paul

I love when I am contacted by people out in the community who are making a difference!  Today I am proud to share the story of a young man named Paul.

*From Rosie Watts- "Thank you so much for this opportunity Kristi. Here is the blog: I have also attached a video of Paul and some of the boys doing music at the new inclusive school :)"


Hello everyone,

I would like to thank Kristi for the fantastic opportunity to share Paul's story on her blog. I think the motivation Kristi has for helping people is fantastic, you really are very inspiring.

My name is Rosie Watts, and I have been working in Ghana with children with special needs during my summers from University. I worked for 6 weeks this year in Kumasi Children's Home, where I built a sensory room filled with specialized activities for the children with special needs. I have also been helping to renovate the school to make it inclusive for every child with special needs in the home.

One of my main current charitable projects in this home is helping a young boy, called Paul. He has a diagnosis of neurofibromatosis. Paul has been in the Children's Home for around 5 years, he was abandoned there when his face and head began to grow abnormally, mostly on his right side. Since then, his head and face have continued to grow abnormally however physically and cognitively, the rest of his development has occurred seemingly as normal. It is not known exactly how old Paul is now but the home suggest between 9 and 12 years of age. The excessive deformities of his face and head have seemed to develop gradually over time and over the past two to three years have begun to crowd and obstruct his vision to the extent that he is now operating as fully blind.

 An Image of Paul at school when I took him this summer. 

As soon as I met Paul in summer 2013, I fell in love with him and he was the individual who inspired to return to Ghana. He is the most amazing, positive young boy despite his condition. He loves cuddles and kisses and lots of attention, which the children in the home often do not get. Every morning when I arrived at the home he would come running up to calling my Ghanaian name ‘Ama, Ama’, we would greet with love and it would put a smile on both of our faces. Paul now attends school which he absolutely adores and he is really thriving in many ways.

Mine and Paul's morning greetings. The smiles say more than words could ever say. 

When I was in Ghana this year I took Paul for various medical check-ups such as CT scan and am currently using my trusty team over in Ghana to continue this, I am in the process of arranging for Paul to get a biopsy to determine whether his condition is benign or malignant. I have now received the scan results back and have sent them to multiple neurosurgeons and professionals specializing in neurofibromatosis, as well as a range of support groups. I am in the search of information to increase my knowledge of the treatment that Paul needs and also for a neurosurgeon and a team of Doctors relevant for Paul who would be willing to operate on this amazing young boy.

Furthermore, I am looking for support in fundraising for this project, if you would like to be involved in this, email me at helpingpaul@hotmail.co.uk

For more information on Paul and the other work of Helping Paul please take a look at our website –
http://rosiewatts4.wix.com/helpingpaul
Or our blog –
http://helpingpaul.blogspot.co.uk/

Thank you everyone for reading about mine and Paul's story and helping us on the journey we are to embark upon together.
I love Paul so much and miss him everyday being here in England, but this only drives even more to get Paul the medical care he needs. With the determination and love that I have, I really feel that this is achievable.

   

When Things Go Wrong, As They Sometimes Will.....

Today we drove to the Children's Hospital for the 3rd time this week. (Is it REALLY only Tuesday?)

 Today's visit was for Rachel, and a check-up with the Ophthalmology department.  My frustrated mood from the morning, plummeted even further when I watched as Rachel was unable to read the letters that reflected on the wall 10 feet away.

She tried so hard.  Squinting...and squirming in the over-sized chair.  She started reciting letters.  

E?---F?---S?---L?...But those weren't the letters on the wall.  Another set of letters.  "You're doing great Rachel!" the Dr. turns her swivel chair towards my brave girl  (who seems to think she guessed all the letters on the wall right!  And a sneaky sense of "wow-ment" fills her eyes)

The Dr. walks her swivel chair close to me and asks me if Rachel could be overly tired today.  "No...I don't think so." I responded....In my head I was thinking that I just wanted to tell her "YES!", in hopes of giving a reason for the sudden decline in Rachel's vision.

But THAT reason would be too simple.

The doctor told me that Rachel's eye exam has left them stumped.  In the Winter of 2009, we were told that Rachel would be "legally blind" by the time she was 10.....A year later, we got THIS NEWS .  An amazing and wonderful thing for our family to hear.

The scans since have shown "stability"!  

A simple word...But one that causes joyous excitement in our world.

But today...We didn't hear "stable".  

We heard our doctor tell us that Rachel's vision has worsened since the last visit. 

This visit was like witnessing a car wreck...And I felt that helpless feeling that is all-too-familiar.

I wanted to scream.  I wanted to fight against the reality that Rachel may face blindness one day.  There is no "jaws of life" that can free us from this possibility...And as angry and helpless this makes me...I have to remember who is control of this situation.

Rachel tells me as we skip down the hall, after the appointment ..."Did you know that people can see things with their hearts?"  "How do you know?" I ask her...."'Cuz Mama, when I close my eyes and it's all black....I can still see how much you love me!"

My God.  

How can I possibly be angry?  How can I question?  How can I ever doubt?

THRIVE ON!