– but life saving procedure possible in SpainBy Sharmain GraingerMany of us believe that we were born into this world for a specific purpose. This purpose, however, is not always immediately known.But if you ask Tucville couple, Ato and Carlene Collins, what their purpose is, they are likely to quickly tell you theirs is to see their son become a great man one day.Their son is seven-year-old Ephraim Collins. He isn’t able to attend school nor can he speak or play as a normal seven-year-old can. In fact he simply cannot walk and relies on his parents for pretty much everything.Ephraim suffers from severe hydrocephalus. This condition manifests with an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain.The accumulation of fluid in Ephraim’s brain started at birth but miraculously stopped towards the end of last year. However, his head currently has a diameter of 88 centimetres. The fluid must be removed if Ephraim is to live a normal life.Carlene recalls vividly giving birth to her only child on June 15, 2009 at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Doctors immediately recognised the defect and advised that nothing could be done to remedy it. However,Wholesale Adidas Hockey Jerseys, Carlene recalled that a neurosurgeon at the hospital gave both she and her husband hope when he suggested the possibility of using a shunt to drain the excess fluid.The couple’s hope was dashed when the specialist decided not to go through with the procedure since it was complicated. Complications from shunts may include over-drainage,China NBA Jerseys, under-drainage, mechanical failure,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, infection or obstruction.An attempt to seek overseas medical care was also not promising. In fact Carlene recalled that after seeing Ephraim, a renowned neurosurgeon urged her to “‘go make another baby because this child will not live to see a year’.” At the time Ephraim was just six months old.Although barely able to move, Ephraim showcases his infectious smile.Ms Jessica Hatfield has been advocating for medical help for Ephraim.But both Carlene and her husband have been relying on their faith in God and thus far they have seen their son defy the odds.“As a believer I am thanking God for what he is going to do and I believe in God’s promise that he will heal him in the seventh year,” said a confident Carlene.Although Ephraim, in the eyes of some medical practitioners, is essentially hanging on to life, he is still visibly full of life. His best asset is his smile which he flashes whenever he sees a friendly face and widens whenever his dad is around.“He is not a burden to me; I live for my son…I gave birth to him and I am happy every day to wake up and take care of him. God will do the rest…” an emotional Carlene said recently.She and her husband have long stopped trying to seek medical attention to fix Ephraim’s condition and have been taking life one day at a time.But recently they got the surprise of their life when Ephraim caught the attention of two neurosurgeons from England. This was the doing of Ms. Jessica Hatfield. Hatfield has been the patron of the Ruimveldt Children’s Aid Centre situated at Ruimveldt, Georgetown for the past five years.The visiting doctors were merely in Guyana for an expedition and accepted Hatfield’s appeal to examine the child.Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Mr Michael Khan, helped put measures in place for Ephraim’s head to be scanned. “He very generously donated the scans…we were very grateful because without that we could not have gotten anybody interested,” said Hatfield.The visiting neurosurgeons have since shared Ephraim’s condition with their colleagues in the field globally and a prominent surgeon has since offered to conduct the necessary procedure to help transform Ephraim into a normal boy.The procedure, according to Hatfield, could be conducted in Spain where the neurosurgeon practises. Among the most outstanding life-saving procedures conducted by the neurosurgeon is one on a young Pakistani girl who was shot to the head simply because she wanted an education.Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She now lives in the United States.Hatfield said that she has hope for Ephraim because she is aware that a procedure to correct the same condition was successfully conducted on a child many years ago.? The child was an 18-month-old Indian girl whose head size spanned 94 centimetres. That Indian girl,Wholesale Jerseys, according to Hatfield, is now a 58-year-old productive woman.With his condition still existing, Hatfield believes that Ephraim, today, possibly has the largest head in the world.Hatfield first learnt of Ephraim’s condition last December. She recalled t