This trip to Australia allowed Angel to have the deformity removed from her face. She was suffering from encephalocele, a rare brain hernia that she had had since birth.
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This hernia is more common in children in South East Asia than in other areas which occurs when the tissues surrounding the brain don’t completely stop growing when the baby is in the uterus.
Despite many operations in the Philippines that would be able to prevent the hernia from spreading, Angel’s left eye was unfortunately totally covered, and she was unable to see out of it. She couldn’t have a normal life and became the butt of a lot of jokes.
After having raised 8000 dollars for a new operation with the help of the Children First Foundation, Angel’s mother was able to turn toInterplast, a foundation in Australia and New Zealand that offers free surgical treatments to the underprivileged who can’t afford them. Angel’s hernia was therefore removed successfully last year.
The young girl has since then celebrated her fifth birthday and her family has receivedmessages of supportfrom people all over the world who were particularly moved by her story.
