On the 8th day of Stand Tall Christmas

We are going to introduce you to David

This is the one of the most smiley boys you will ever meet.  David’s family is the first family that walked in to meet with me and handed me a pile of X-rays of David’s spine.  They were prepared, organized, and ready to take action.  Even to an untrained eye, it was obvious how desperately David needed surgery.  His cervical vertebrae, the ones in his neck, made the shape of an “L”.  His curve was so severe that we were worried that one fall, and he would be paralyzed for life. 

David’s scoliosis was caused by a neurological condition called Neurofibromatosis (NF).  It is a genetic disorder that can cause a variety of other problems including hearing loss, learning impairment, heart problems, and severe pain.  It also causes the growth of tumors on nerve tissue. 

For David, this means scoliosis and a developmental disability.  Usually, this is a death sentence for a Tanzanian child.  Special needs education or services are non-existent.  But, his family are fierce fighters for this child and he is starting high school in a few weeks.  Secondary education is something only 33% of Tanzanian children attend.  This is a huge achievement for David.

Families like David’s make our job easy.  They attend every appointment, fight for every resource available for him, and make sure that he is happy, loved and well-cared for.  I wish that every child had David’s story.  He will always have challenges because of his NF.  But, David is the one child, I know we don’t have to worry about.

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