6 yr old Rheana Suffers from Mitochondrial Diseases
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Please allow us to introduce to you our gift from heaven - Miss Rheana Michelle Carter.
6 year old Rheana (aka “Nonnie”) suffers from the affects of Mitochondrial Disease, in all probability since she was two weeks old. The diagnosis was confirmed when she was 14 months.
This disease causes her to have several health related problems and reactions. To name just a few: poor growth, short stature, failure to thrive, lactic academia, disautonomia, low blood sugar, severe asthma, dysmotility, seizure disorder, myclonic jerks, muscle pain, weakness, decay of teeth and ketosis. She is j tube dependant. That is just to name a few of her issues.
Due to Rheana’s conditions, when any food substance is placed into her g-tube, her body reacts to vomit what ever went in the tube. Rheana gets no nutrition in her g-tube, it is all fed through her j tube. Rheana was t.p.n. dependant for ten months until one of many life threatening infections changed her life in January of 2006. She has the J-tube surgically placed in the later part of that month and released in February
Rheana’s mother and father, wonderful caring parents with their children’s medical needs first and foremost, have shared with us that Rheana needs a number of things and she needs them right away!
They appreciate every thing that anyone has ever and will ever do for their little girl as well as them as a family. The biggest thing that we ask for is that we have prayer for Rheana and her Mito Friends every day.
Rheana has special medical needs that are very expensive and we want to help her! We most certainly hope that you will want to help her too.
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Learn more about Rheana and her family from Heather and Shannon
Rheana was born to us two months premature on a very stormy weekend.
When Rheana came into this world it was by emergency c-section. She had at least 6 different conditions diagnosed wrong with her... sepsis, metabolic acidosis, respiratory distress, failure to thrive, lactic acidosis, meconium aspiration and oxygen depravation as well. She was placed on life support.
Rheana was not expected to have lived beyond her first day in this world, but by the grace of God she did! Then at 2 weeks old she was rushed to Children's Hospital at Scottish Rite because of seizures. The doctors again said she would not come home.
That is when the real journey began...
At 12 months old Rheana was not developing and thriving the way she should have. She was still in and out of the hospital on a regular basis, weighing a mere 10lbs and only 20 inches long (as big as most new born babies now days).
At 14 months old the doctors decided to do a muscle biopsy. This biopsy confirmed the Mitochondrial Disease was ravishing her little life. We were devastated!
In all there is much more we could tell you that happened negatively on a medical basis in Rheana's little life, but we want to focus on the positive. The positives are: yes, unfortunately, she knows nothing else but hospitals, doctors, feeding tubes, emergency room visits, set backs from surgeries and continued sickness... but the most important thing is that she is alive!!! Again let us say "she is alive!"
Rheana is currently attended to by numerous doctors and treated with an arsenal of medications on a daily basis. Her current diagnosis is Mitochondrial Disease Multi-system Disorder. She has Seizures, rotten teeth, low muscle tone, acidosis issues, small stature, mild delays, hypoglycemia, anemia, TPN dependent, dysmotility, autonomic dysfunction, neuro-visceral disorder, shakes a lot and battles feeding line infections constantly. They also discovered a lesion on her brain in august 2004, that *thank God* is not growing!
Now 5 years old, Rheana is a very happy little girl that has touched many hearts and every day teaches us how to be a hero. She is a living vessel of God and she has such a fighting spirit about her that teaches us everyday struggles are petty in comparison to her little life.
It is an absolute Honor to be Rheana's mother and a part of her life. Her father says "being her father is one of the greatest gifts life has to offer". Her big sister, Morgan, says" I love my Nonnie". Morgan is an awesome big sister who is always willing to help out no matter what. It is an Honor to also have her in our life and to be her mother - she is my first! With out her I would not be the mother that I am today. Her daddy says that "Morgan is my big Girl! My first special girl that makes me whole and who I am today".
Be sure to also visit Rheana's Caring Bridge pages.Click here to go there now.
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