João Miguel, a 1 year and 6 months, walks and sits without the help of his parents or his sisters. But not only that. The child runs and plays throughout his house. These activities would be normal in a healthy baby, but João was born with microcephaly caused by the Zika virus, and at 8 months, he was on the verge of death. Now its development is something that doctors and relatives were not expecting.
"The doctors are surprised and happy with him. They say that the situation of all babies is sad, but it is good to see that one of them shows the medicine that microcephaly is not something as monstrous as people think," Maria da Silva, 31, the mother of the baby, told BBC Brazil.
João was one of the 2,653 children in Brazil who were born with microcephaly and other problems caused by zika during gestation, according to data from the country's Ministry of Health.
It was born with a cephalic perimeter of 29 centimeters (the parameter to identify cases of microcephaly is equal to or less than 31.9 cm in children) and a serious visual deficiency. He does not normally move his right arm and still does not speak.
However, it is far from being the baby that a year ago caused a commotion in Recife, northeast of Brazil, for having spent four days in the emergency service of a public hospital waiting for a space in the care unit Even after a request from the Public Ministry.
At that time, João was one of the babies with microcephaly who suffered from serious respiratory problems, which are a consequence of the difficulty of their brains to coordinate breathing and swallowing.
"He had two cardiac arrests. The doctor told me: Prepare for the worst because your son is very serious, there is no solution", Rosileide recalls.
"I went into intensive care with no expectation of anything, but I promised myself that I would fight for her health and that I would prove that her deficiency is not as shown", she says.
View
Like many children of the "zika generation", who were born primarily in northeastern Brazil, João Miguel had a poor prognosis at birth.
"A doctor first frightened me, said that maybe João would not walk, he would not speak. The case was new to her too," says Rosalie.
As there were not always vacancies for physiotherapy sessions in hospitals and rehabilitation centers - because of the large number of children affected, many are still on the waiting list - much of the initial encouragement the baby received was made by his mother.
"I do therapy with him every day at home, since he was born, even without knowing what was ideal for him and what he was not." Then the doctor guided me and I continued to do it, "he says.
João Miguel has, however, secured a place at the Altino Ventura Foundation, an advanced rehabilitation center that offers special attention to the visual deficiencies of children (more than half of those affected by the virus present them, according to recent studies).
"We know that 90% of vision develops in the first year of the child's life because the brain has a greater neuroplasticity. Once your vision is stimulated, the overall development increases," says Liana Ventura, director of the foundation , The BBC Brazil.
João Miguel's visual therapy sessions began in the gloom, because his visual difficulty left him more sensitive, so that he gradually learns to recognize light sources.
Today he plays with all the lights on.
"He has strabismus and nystagmus (an involuntary tremor in the eye that can result in reduced vision)." He saw little, but with the stimulation, he came to perceive more objects, mainly the colorful and bright. Says the child's visual therapist, Lana Dantas, to BBC Brazil.
"The expectation is that these children take longer to develop the motor part, but João surprised us, had a good development," he adds.
About two months ago, João was discharged from physiotherapy sessions. But he continues in visual therapy and will begin to frequent a group to stimulate speech.
The neuropediatrist Vanessa van der Linden, who accompanies João Miguel from birth, stresses that stimulation and physiotherapy are fundamental for children with congenital zika syndrome, but that it is difficult to predict how each one will respond.
"João has an important neurological commitment, but some children develop more than others. It depends on how the virus affects the brain of each," he says.
"Worse to be human"
Rosileide and her husband, Josenildo Nunes, who also have two teenage daughters, have been unemployed since João was born. To cover the costs of the baby's medicines, they receive financial help from the government.
A few months ago, Rosileide began selling cosmetics to complete the household income. "We live like this, we have one day, not another day."
A year ago, Rosileide spoke with BBC Brazil about the battle to get them treated in the intensive care unit. Speaking about concern for his son, he said he felt like "the worst human being in the world."
"I thought I was going to lose my son, I felt guilty. It happened so fast that I did not understand," she says.
"Today I know that everything I did at that moment was worth and is still worth it. I fought for his health and today I only cry with joy to see his development," he adds.
A few weeks ago, João Miguel went to the beach for the first time. He was a little afraid of the waves, according to the mother, but soon he got used to it. Now he wants to go back.
FUENTE: BBC
