Although the doctors did not give hope to the parents, they did not give up and achieved that Noah is now walking with a walker. Independent movement in dreams. However, for this to reach the boy, it is necessary to operate immediately. And it costs 39 thousand. euros. Their family is asking everyone to help with the collection and is asking everyone to contribute as much as they can at this time.
“I never lost faith that Noah will be like all children – like his peers in the kindergarten that Noah attends,” says Rita Malinauskaitė, the child’s mother, confidently.
Before birth – no signs of a possible disorder
Noah is the third child in the family. Rita and her husband had the planned baby when she was 42 years old. That was the only “risk,” she said. “I did all the tests – the answers were good, the pregnancy was also smooth. It’s true that when I was halfway through my pregnancy, I got Covid. No one will prove that this is related to Noah’s condition – it’s just my thoughts,” said Rita.
The son was a planned and much-awaited child. The newborn was born after cesarean section. When he was born, the mother was reassured that the child was fine – “just need to visit the orthopedist.” The parents understood what this meant when the baby was brought to the ward.
“He said, ‘you need to change the diapers, but don’t panic, his legs are not like all children’s.'” After that sentence, I don’t even remember how I got out of bed and got to my son. It’s usually hard to get up after a caesarean… It was a shock. I saw that the feet and fingers were not moving. When he took the blood from his foot, he didn’t even cry. The man immediately said, “He can’t feel his feet!” Rita recalled.
The very next day, she and her son were taken to VUL Santaras clinics, where investigations began. Rita and Noah spent a couple of weeks in the hospital, and then they sent her home. “From three days to nine months, Noah was in various casts,” said the mother.
Personal photo/Nojus spent nine months with plastered legs
What could have caused the congenital underdevelopment of the limbs is still unclear. According to Rita, the doctors did not find anything specific. “Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that the brain does not send a signal to the legs. The part of the brain that is responsible for movement. Diagnosed clubfoot, dislocation of both hips. That’s all for now,” said Rita.
The prognosis was only bad: “Didn’t give hope”
She recalled that during the first year of her son’s life, she heard only bad forecasts from the doctors she visited: “He may not sit, he may never walk, he may have a mental disability – so many things were predicted that I didn’t even know how I would have to live with him. We looked for all the information on what could be done on the Internet – no one came and told us that it could be not only bad, but also good. If I didn’t have a pillar like my husband, I don’t even know how I would have lived. I don’t know, maybe doctors say that when insuring themselves, but a person needs at least a drop of hope.”
Despite the gloomy forecasts, Noah’s parents decided not to give up and independently did everything to help their son develop and catch up with the development of his peers.
“I couldn’t believe that nothing could be done. My two older children are healthy, my husband’s child is healthy, I don’t have any disabled people in my family or surroundings. Geneticists are still studying Noah. So far, the research is good,” said Rita.
Therapies – at my own expense and that of benefactors
When Noah was nine months old, he was “taken out” of the cast for the first time and his parents were advised to seek rehab. “They said he needed to do sports, because at that time he was like a rag doll – his legs didn’t have any muscles… After finding a rehabilitation clinic in Slovakia, we went there and Noah’s long “sport” began, he said about the first steps that helped the boy get stronger interviewer
The therapies were continued even after returning to Lithuania. Rita says she has lost count of how many physiotherapists have worked with Noah. He also invited them to his home, used all the free opportunities. “At home, I almost bought equipment for the gym. However, we realized that it is necessary to go to specialized centers that work with such children. There is a shortage of good specialists in Lithuania. After all, a child does not need rehabilitation for a day or two, but constantly,” said Rita. According to her, parents of children with disabilities are constantly doing work that is often invisible to others – they are constantly looking for specialists, procedures, and visiting doctors.
“If you see that something new has appeared abroad, for example, some kind of walking aid, you go to the doctor and ask – ‘maybe we can adapt this to us.'” Noah’s mother said.
Now the family needs money the most for the boy’s hip surgery, which will be performed by the doctors of the Warsaw-based Paley European Institute. This medical facility specializes in hip surgeries.
After the consultation, the doctors advised not to delay and to operate on the baby “immediately”. The price of the operation is 39 thousand. euros. The family already has part of the funds, but they do not know what will happen with the remaining amount. That is why he is asking benefactors and those who can contribute – help Noah walk.
Donations can be made here:
NOAH’S CHARITY AND SUPPORT FUND LT237300010175008497
The tests required for the operation will be carried out for Noah immediately after Easter – in early April. If they are good, a surgery date will be set. So financial support is needed now.
He walks with a walker, but the family believes – he can do without it!
Currently, the three-year-old is walking on his own with a walker. All this inspires the family to achieve further goals, namely the possibility for Noah to walk without a walker.
Recently, other pleasant things have happened: Noah has started to speak, according to his mother, “making three-word sentences.”
Personal photos/Nojas always with a smile
His development is not far behind his peers. The boy is cheerful, friendly, attends a simple public kindergarten. “Of course, when I see other children who squat, run, the difference is obvious – Noah can’t do that. But he distinguishes colors, understands everything. There has been a huge leap in development from last year to now.”
Talking about Noah’s character, Rita says that the boy’s smile reveals everything: “He smiles even when painful procedures are performed.”
Like most boys, his son likes trains, cars, repairing, and tinkering: “If the store has a Lego table with equipment, he can sit there for a long time,” the three-year-old’s mother smiled.
